Hell To Pay
by belladonna78
Summary: Sequel to 'All Hell Breaks Loose'. Beth is now reeling from the fact that Dean sold his soul in order to get her out of the deal she made with the crossroads demon to bring Sam back to life. How will they cope with the sobering thought that in a year's time, Dean is going to Hell, and there's nothing they can do about it? Dean/OC. Slightly AU. Please Read & Review! Rated M for smut
1. Author's Notes

**AUTHOR'S NOTES - Hell To Pay (Season 3)**

This is the sequel to my previous story "All Hell Breaks Loose" which covers Season 2 of Supernatural, and prior to that my story "Highway to Hell" which covers Season 1. If you haven't read either of those yet, I suggest you start there because otherwise you're jumping into a story already in progress, and it will give you all the background you need to know about who Beth is and her story. (Plus, it's like a week – at least depending on how fast you read – worth of fun stories!)

This story picks up at the start of Season 3 – _Supernatural_. Beth is now reeling from the fact that Dean sold his soul in order to get her out of the deal she made with the crossroads demon to bring Sam back to life. Now they all have to learn to cope with the sobering thought that in a year's time, Dean is going to Hell, and there's nothing they can do about it.

This is the story of Beth O'Malley, daughter of a minister, also a hunter who was friends with John Winchester. Although she was unaware of his 'other job', as a teenager, Beth found out the hard way about the things that are out there in the dark when she was possessed by a demon, an old foe of her father's, and forced to kill him by her own hand.

John rescued her, exorcised the demon, and took her in, teaching her the ways of hunting. After a while she and Dean developed a relationship, eventually gaining the blessing of John when she was nearly killed during a hunt. They fight together now, alongside their brother Sam, and the whole world has just been turned upside-down for them – what will happen next?!

This is Supernatural as I think it should be written. :) In general, I follow the series, writing Beth into it as we go – that's right, I don't change the plots all that much, that's not what this is about. Some become flashbacks, some change a bit to fit with the storyline I am creating around Beth; all in all I hope you enjoy the way I write it, and come back for more!

Please post a review if you're enjoying the writing – I love to get feedback, especially if it's nice! If you have songs you'd like to suggest for any particular episodes, do so, I love to add to my playlists :) Likewise if you have any ideas around storyline, episodes etc. that I might miss (I skipped a couple of episodes in Season 1 – they're about to make a comeback in Season 3 & 4 as flashbacks! So stay tuned for them) feel free to suggest them. Let me know what you like about the story! Everyone's encouragement just inspires me to keep going with it :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any of the storyline that follows the show itself. Any changes to storyline and addition of characters (ie. Beth & Jefferson, just to name a couple) are all mine :)

The only OC I don't own is Cole Singer – she's a crossover from my friend EarthhAngel. Be sure to go check out her story _How To Save A Life _for some John Winchester focused writing, plus some early Dean & Beth back story :) It's been an absolute ball collaborating on that story and there's plenty more story to come!


	2. Magnificent Seven

_**AN:** Sorry about the delay getting this up, it was all ready to go, I got the new story up, uploaded to Doc Manager, and DAMN all my formatting was screwed to Hell. Then I had to get to work. Which is where I am now, doing FanFic stuff when I shouldn't be LOL But hey, I didn't want to leave you all hanging another 9 hours with nothing to review except Author Notes! LOL_

* * *

_ Ever felt that you've been lied  
And somehow you just can't provide the proof  
Ever felt you're cast aside  
And sheltered from the universal truth  
Ever find when trouble calls you're first in line  
And stick your finger in_

_Everybody's talking 'bout 7 deadly sins_

_Number one says drop the gun  
There's nothing out there that's worth dying for  
And number two that's me and you_

_I can hear them calling out  
I can hear them screaming out_

_Blood is sweet like a deep red river_  
_And where it goes I don't know_

* * *

**MAGNIFICENT SEVEN**

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

**Sam's POV**

It'd been a bit over a week and we hadn't see any repercussions from the release of an entire demon army.

Beth's demon sense was working over time, she felt sick the majority of the time and Dean and I had needed to force her back into doing her daily prayer. She said it felt fake, but it worked: I couldn't explain that. How could you believe in something working when that faith wasn't extended to its source? Beth would have been the one I'd normally talk to about that, but she was quiet on the subject, not wanting to discuss her feelings about angels, or God. She and Dean definitely weren't discussing the whole demon deal, in fact, you'd think it had never happened to listen to them. So they were doing what they did best, well maybe second best: living in denial while I resorted to what my expertise was: research.

My most recent acquisition was _Dr Faustus_ and I was clutching it in my arms along with my laptop and phone as Dean shoved me out the motel room door.

"Sorry man, you have just got to go now!" He said, glancing back at Beth who had just stepped out of the bathroom wearing only a towel. "She's not feeling sick for the first time in days, and well, a man has needs!"

"Dude! Too much information!" I muttered at him, shaking my head and trying to force that image out of my head.

Dean laughed and shut the door in my face. Great. I made my way over to the Impala, dumping my things on the front seat and settling in for what would inevitably be a few hours. I glanced over at the motel room and Dean was standing in the window holding two thumbs up at me and grinning like a Cheshire cat. I smiled at him and shook my head, chuckling as Beth stepped into view talking to Dean. He pulled shut the curtains and I could see them silhouetted against the light material; suddenly there was the shadow of that towel being pulled free and I lowered my gaze – I really didn't want to see that.

Half an hour later and I was starting to think I should look into getting my own room, at least I'd have decent lighting to read to. My phone rang and I answered it. Bobby's voice sounded over the connection.

_"Hey Sam,"_ he said.

"Hey Bobby," I replied, looking down at the book on my knee.

_"What're you doing?"_ Bobby asked, I could hear that he was on the road again, the sound of his car droning in the background.

"Oh, same old, same old." I said to him.

_"You buried in that book again?"_ He asked me and I chewed on my lip. Bobby's voice came back over the line, disapproving when I didn't answer._ "Sam, you want to break Dean free from that demon deal, you ain't gonna find the answer in no book."_

"Then where, Bobby?" I asked him, frustrated. It was the only way I knew how to work, research was my thing, I was better at it than fighting, it was my strength and if it couldn't help me now, then what good was it?

_"Kid, I wish I knew,"_ Bobby said. _"So where's Dean and Beth?"_

"Doing what they do best," I said without missing a beat.

_"What?"_ Bobby asked, confused by the reference.

"Never mind," I muttered and shook my head.

_"Well you kids better pack it up. I think I finally found something,"_ Bobby said and I looked up at the motel room, grimacing. I hung up and wondered if I'd given them enough time. Surely I had, Beth had been so sick in the last five days I doubted they'd gotten any time to work through their sexual frustrations, definitely wouldn't have taken long.

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

**Beth's POV**

I hadn't really been expecting to be jumped as soon as I got out of the shower, but I wasn't complaining. The last few days had been intense, I'd spent most of it sleeping or praying it felt like, and when I wasn't doing either of those things I was feeling sick in general – apparently just having released two hundred or more demons into the world was messing with my demon sense, regardless of whether we could find the damn things or not. Either way, it didn't really make for romantic, or even just plain down and dirty sexual liaisons.

What a relief that Dean was seeing things my way, of course he usually did when it came to getting alone time. He'd casually enquired as to how I was feeling, and when I suggested we should be getting our own room he'd wasted no time at all shoving Sam out the door.

That action had brought us through a half hour of foreplay to this moment. I looked down at Dean with a cheeky grin, tying my hair back behind me in a ponytail,_ that felt much better_! Dean's hands played along my sides, sliding up to my breasts as he cupped them, tweaking the nipples between his fingers and massaging. I gasped and looked down, meeting his hungry look.

"Quit messing with your hair already," he said, leaning up to take a nipple in his mouth and sucking on it. I moaned at the sensation coursing through that breast.

"Damn," I groaned as he continued to flick his tongue across his target. "Well I'm hot!"

"Yes you are..." he said huskily and then his hands grasped my hips, rocking me against his erection. I repositioned myself, sliding down on to him with a groan. Foreplay was well and truly over with, Dean's look was pretty clear, let's get down to business.

I rocked a few times against him, eliciting a groan from those tasty lips. His chest felt firm and hot beneath my hands as I trailed my fingertips down his pecs. Leaning down I took a nipple between thumb and finger, flicking the tip across it and dragging a shuddering groan from him as he arched underneath me. I ground my hips against him, slowly and deliberately, keeping him deep and pushed up against that soft spot within.

A deep pulsing tremor coursed through my body and I felt myself start to ride the wave, sitting back, Dean's nipple completely forgotten. He groaned, holding on to my hips, rocking with me as I threw my head back and moaned at how good it felt. I closed my eyes, gasping for breath as I started to clamp down on Dean.

"Oh god... oh yes, oh yes...ohhh god," I groaned, thrusting against Dean, trying to get even closer. There was a noise to the right of us and I opened my eyes in time to see Sam walk through the door, staring in horror. "Oh my God!" I called out in shock to Dean's "Oh yeah!" He hadn't seen Sam, but I had and I dove for the covers.

Dean looked confused, then saw Sam who was now ducking back out the door, slamming it shut. "No, no, no, no! Dammit Sam!" Dean cried out. His hands slid around my waist as I lay sprawled across the bed reaching for some semblance of clothing. They trailed determinedly down to my clit and brushed against it with confident strokes. I groaned and arched up, rising to my hands and knees.

"Jesus Dean! Stop that!" I gasped.

"No way, he's gone and we are definitely not done here," he said to me, kissing the back of my neck, his chest pressed against me. I couldn't argue because I was too busy moaning to his touch which was rocking against my throbbing groin. He held me tightly against him and I felt his erection press it's way back into my wet and ready entrance.

I looked back to see that he was so close, this was happening and it was happening now. I rocked back and he thrust deeply inside of me. The angle had changed, and it was even better. I moved in unison to his thrusts, meeting the need head on. One hand Dean kept on my clit, dragging along it as he thrust. The other grasped my left breast and firmly squeezed it as he drove into me over and over.

I climaxed with a heated rush, crying out from the sheer intensity of it all and feeling the tremors ripple through me, my legs turning to jello as I collapsed to the bed. Dean continued to thrust into me a few more times and then he too tensed, fingers digging into my hips almost painfully as his own heat shot out of him, filling me and pulling him under. He collapsed against my back, kissing my neck while he rocked into me a few more times, shuddering with a deep guttural groan.

Dean pulled me back into him as he hit the mattress with a long groan, turning my head to kiss me lazily. "Damn girl, you were gonna just leave me hanging?" He asked. I looked at him a little guiltily, kissing him back.

"Oh my god I don't even want to think about what just happened," I groaned, moving to bury my head in his shoulder.

"Oh don't tell me you didn't like it, I know you're lying," he said with a confident grin. I looked up at him, raising my eyebrow.

"Not that, geez Dean! I'm talking about the part where Sam walked in!" I said, starting to turn red in the cheeks. Dean laughed heartily and kissed me.

"Oh that! You worry too much, serves him frickin' right – he knew what we were doing in here!"

* * *

_**Impala  
Highway headed for Nebraska**_

**Dean's POV**

I had the Impala hurtling down the highway, and I swear she got airborne on the last rise. I looked in the mirror at Beth, I was pretty sure she was feigning sleep just to avoid an awkward conversation with Sam. She looked a little green as we landed and I slowed down slightly, didn't need her throwing up all over the upholstery.

"Let me see your knife," Sam said out of the blue.

"What for?" I asked, glancing over at him.

"So I can gouge my eyes out!" Sam said and I snickered at him.

"It was a beautiful, natural act, Sam," I said to him and I could have sworn I saw Beth roll her eyes behind me, she definitely wasn't asleep.

"It's a part of you guys I never wanted to see Dean," Sam said, shuddering and closing his eyes like he was trying to shut out the images.

I chuckled and slapped Sam across the knee. "Well hey, I appreciate you giving me a little quality time with the Doublemint Twins." I grinned, turning back to the road and thinking about those soft, succulent breasts under my hands as Beth rode me. I almost groaned out loud thinking about it. _Damn Sammy for interrupting that moment._

"No problem," Sam said quietly and I frowned, now that was not the Sam we knew and loved.

"Really?" I asked, blatantly surprised. "Well, I got to say, I was expecting a weary sigh or an eye roll, something."

"Not at all, you guys deserve to have a little fun." Sam said.

"Well, I'm in violent agreement with you there," I chuckled, looking in the mirror at Beth. My attention turned to Bobby and why he had called, Sam hadn't gotten into specifics, and in the heat of the moment, I hadn't thought to ask. "What's Bobby got?"

"Not much," Sam answered. "Crop failure and a cicada swarm outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. Could be demonic omens."

"Or could just be a bad crop and a bug problem," I pointed out to him, wondering if perhaps we weren't hurtling down the highway toward a minor issue. Cicadas and dead crops hardly pointed to a demonic plague.

"Yeah, but it's our only lead," Sam said.

"Any freaky deaths?" I asked, hoping there was something more to go on.

"No, nothing Bobby could find – not yet, anyway," Sam answered and I shrugged, looking back at the highway ahead of us.

"It's weird man. I mean, the night the devil's gate opened, all these weirdo storm clouds were sighted over how many cities?" I said, glancing at him.

"Seventeen," Sam said.

"Seventeen," I said with a nod. "You'd think it would be Apocalypse Now, but it's been five days and bupkis." It was getting to me, what the hell were they all waiting for? We knew they were out there, Beth was sick as a dog and we weren't even near them for all the clues we had. Her being sick only had a few explanations to me. Either she was really really out of practice with all the prayer stuff – which I could safely say was a very likely possibility given what we'd been through lately; or there were just so many of the bastards up top now that she was getting signals from them all, wherever they were – which was a much more frightening scenario. More frightening yet was the thought that she might be pregnant again, I glanced up nervously at her, then shook my head. No, definitely wasn't that kind of sick this time. Just the same, maybe I should think about adding more protection to the mix... especially now.

_Especially now._ I shifted uncomfortably and didn't like where my brain was going; maybe it would be better to leave her with something to remember me by... now I really had something to think about. I pushed that thought out of my mind, probably should to talk to her about that one. After all, maybe she wouldn't want to be left alone with a baby, knowing I was in Hell. Maybe she'd want to move on eventually, didn't she deserve to have that?

I looked up in the mirror again at Beth, this time I think she really had fallen asleep, she looked so peaceful. My stomach tensed at the thought of any other man ever hitting on my girl and I groaned out loud in frustration.

Sam frowned at me and I glanced over again. "What are the demons waiting for?" I asked, saying anything to get my mind off where it had been focused on.

"Beats me," Sam answered, shaking his head.

"It's driving me crazy! I tell you, if it's gonna be war, I wish it would just start already." I said, squeezing the steering wheel in an effort to release some tension.

"I don't know, man," Sam said to me. "Be careful what you wish for." I glanced over at him again. All this damn waiting around, wondering what was coming for us next. Anything had to be better than that, right?

* * *

_**Just Outside Lincoln, Nebraska**_

**Sam's POV**

Dean pulled the Impala up behind the '71 Chevelle that Bobby used when he wasn't in his truck. It was a bright sunny day and the farm we'd just shown up at looked clean and welcoming. Bobby was leaning against his car, already waiting for us.

The sound of thousands of cicadas filled the air as we got out of the car. I looked over at Dean and Beth, frowning. "Hear those cicadas?" I asked.

"That can't be a good sign," Beth said with a nod.

"No, no it can't," I said to them, watching as Dean took a massive bite out of the burger he was eating and starting to chew away.

"So, we're eating bacon cheeseburgers for breakfast, are we?" Bobby said, walking up to us and looking at Dean.

"Well, I sold my soul. Got a year to live. I ain't sweating the cholesterol," Dean quipped with a shrug. Bobby looked over at Beth who was working her way through her own burger.

"What's your excuse?" He asked, and Beth turned tired eyes toward him.

"Comfort eating," she said with a slight smile and shrug, her gaze flicking toward Dean sadly for a moment, and then hardening as I watched her shove it all back down behind a curtain of false bravado. I sighed, watching her, I had no idea how I was going to help her through this next year, I was still reeling from the news myself.

Bobby was frowning at Beth too, but she ignored his pointed look.

"So, Bobby, what do you think? Have we got a biblical plague here or what?" She asked, looking around the farm. Her expression kind of said it all, she didn't think so.

"Well, let's find out. Looks like the swarm's ground zero," Bobby said.

We made our way up to the house and Dean pounded on the door. "Candygram!" He waited half a minute before pulling his lock picks out of his pocket and starting to work on the door. Bobby and Beth both pulled guns out of their jackets and I shook my head. _Why did they always have to resort to weaponry?_

Beth looked over at me and narrowed her eyes, glancing down at my hip where my own gun was tucked. She raised an eyebrow at me and I sighed, giving in, pulling the gun out and getting it ready. Beth was the master at unspoken orders, it was downright scary sometimes. I didn't know what the hell good a gun was going to do against a demon if we encountered one, but I wasn't going to get into that argument with her.

Dean turned back and looked at Beth as he got the door unlocked. "You feeling anything?" He asked, and she shook her head negatively at him. He looked thoughtful and then pushed the door open, entering the house.

The smell hit us first, like rancid meat that had been left out of the fridge too long. We all covered our noses and grimaced.

"That's awful!" I said, I'd never smelled anything quite like it, it was foul, I covered my nose with my sleeve, trying to get rid of the rotted fetid stench that was filling my nostrils.

"That so can't be a good sign," Dean said, reaching to the small of his back where he pulled out his own gun. Bobby and Beth broke off to the left, moving into the kitchen. Dean and I pushed forward toward the centre of the house.

We moved quietly, sweeping each room we came to. As I reached the other side of the dining room I heard panicked screams coming from the other side of the door. Dean crossed to me.

"You hear that?" I asked and he nodded moving toward the door. We framed the door either side, pausing a moment and then I kicked it in as we threw ourselves into the room. The smell from earlier hit us face on, billowing out and choking what little fresh air we'd had. I buried my nose in the fabric of my jacket, staring at the scene before us.

A small television set sat in the corner of the room facing a three-seater couch which was propped at an angle in the middle of the room. Three bodies were seated on the couch, reclining back and clearly in a state of decay. Flies droned around a man, woman and young teen who were looking like they had been sucked dry of all fluid, shrivelled and lifeless.

"Oh, my god!" I said.

Bobby and Beth entered the room on the other side and recoiled in horror at what they were looking at.

"Bobby, what the hell happened here?" I asked him, Beth looked green around the gills, like all her nausea had just hit her threefold.

"I don't know," Bobby said, shaking his head.

"Check for sulphur," Beth suggested, and we nodded, taking a look around the room.

I was looking over a window sill when Dean whistled softly, drawing our attention. He was crouched on the floor behind the couch, and he signalled with his hand that he'd heard a noise and was going to check it out. I looked at Bobby and Beth who were circling around and leaving in the direction they'd come, I crept back down the hallway we'd entered from. Dean took the third door which led directly outside, where he'd heard the noise.

Beth met me on the porch and we crept around the side of the house, startling when we heard a few hits and Dean grunt. Beth was moving ahead of me, rounding the corner, her gun drawn. My eyes widened when I saw Dean on the ground in front of a couple, shotgun pointed right at his chest.

Beth moved cautiously toward them, eyes on Dean and gun drawn, they looked up at us, their body language turning defensive until Bobby suddenly cried out from behind them.

"Isaac? Tamara?!" Bobby said, clearly recognising the pair of Dean's attackers.

"Bobby? What the hell are you doing here?" The woman asked with a smile, turning dark eyes toward him.

"I could ask you the same," Bobby said, sounding surprised, moving up to them. The three of them relaxed and Beth tucked her gun into the waistband of her jeans, moving to Dean's side and grimacing at the blood trickling from his nose.

"Heya, Bobby!" Isaac said, taking Bobby's hand and shaking it enthusiastically.

Dean groaned as Beth helped him sit up. "Son of a bitch!" He muttered and she fussed over him a little, pulling out a cloth from her jacket to help staunch the flow of blood.

"Why do they always go for the nose?" Dean groaned, touching it gingerly.

"I don't know, and you have such a cute nose too," Beth said with a grin. The couple just looked at Dean and Beth, raising an eyebrow, clearly not amused. I chuckled, shaking my head. Their humour in the face of all the crap we saw every day never failed to lighten the mood, though I tried not to encourage it otherwise they'd just get carried away all the time.

* * *

_**Isaac & Tamara's House  
****Lincoln, Nebraska**_

**Beth's POV**

Isaac and Tamara's house was the strangest combination of comfortable country living and supernatural library and warehouse that I'd ever seen. Even Bobby's library, full of every occult book under the sun, didn't compare.

We were standing in what probably once passed for a combined kitchen and dining area, but looked more like a voodoo supply store. Shelves of unidentified jars filled with different herbs and various other items lined one wall. Sam was looking at yet more bunches of herbs that were hanging from the ceiling drying. Bobby was into the maps on the wall which were currently being used to track demon omens while Dean was on his phone, chatting up some girl.

"Jenny! That is a beautiful name. That's my sister's name, actually," Dean said and I rolled my eyes. He wandered off into the adjoining living room while Isaac stalked around the room, looking for something, tension rolling off his body.

"Honey? Where's the Palo Santo?" He asked anxiously, throwing his arms in the air and turning his dark eyes to his wife. She was standing by a table, rummaging through some items.

"Well, where'd you leave it?" She asked him. Isaac rolled his eyes at her.

"I don't know, dear. That's why I'm asking," he said in a derogatory tone. I raised my eyebrow at him and shook my head slightly, looking into the living room at Dean who was pacing as he talked on the phone. Thank God he never took that tone with me, I'd be just as likely to stab him with his damn Palo Santo than help him find it.

"Palo Santo?" Sam asked, looking around curiously.

"It's holy wood," I said, looking over at him. "From Peru." I'd read about it in my Dad's journal, which John had given me years ago. Hard to find, I'd never seen it in all the years I'd been hunting with John and Dean.

"It's toxic to demons, like holy water," Tamara explained to Sam. "Keeps the bastards nailed down while you're exorcising them."

As a former meat-suit for demons, I had a slight problem with that. Especially since I also knew what it was like to have wood pierce through you. If you were lucky to miss a vital organ, like I had been, it still hurt like a bitch and you ran the risk of bleeding to death. So the idea of using Palo Santo as a first choice against demons, not my idea of a good time for the hosts. On the same token – I wasn't about to stick around and get killed by a demon because of sentimentality, and this was a war we were talking about, I had a feeling many innocent lives would be lost. But then, that was usually the case in war.

Tamara walked over to the table Isaac was standing at, pulling out a drawer and digging around. She pulled out a large, pointed stake to drive her statement home, handing it to Isaac who took it with an affectionate smile.

"Thank you, dear." Isaac said in a monotone voice.

"You'd lose your head if it wasn't for me," Tamara said with a smile. I found myself curious about how they'd both gotten into hunting. She seemed so sweet, whereas he was clearly fighting off demons of his own, cold and calculating.

"So, how long have you two been married?" I asked them.

"Eight years this past June," Tamara said, Isaac put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her in to place a kiss on Tamara's forehead.

"The family that slays together..." He said, smiling at his wife.

"Right," Sam said, joining in the conversation. "I'm with you there," he said, tossing me a grin. "So how'd you get started?" There was an awkward silence that fell as the couple looked down at the table in front of them. I bit my lip, jumping in to save Sam.

"You know, it's really none of our business..." I said cautiously, throwing Sam a warning look. Not all of us were as comfortable as this family was about how we'd gotten into hunting. Sam looked a little chagrined and turned to Isaac and Tamara.

"Yeah, I'm sorry... it's really … sorry." He muttered.

"No, no, it's... it's all right," Tamara said quietly, brushing it off.

"Well, Jenny, if you look as pretty as you sound, then I'd love to have an appletini," Dean said, walking back into the room, grimacing at me as he said appletini. I snickered, crossing my arms with a smile in his direction. "Yeah," Dean finished. "Call you." He hung up the phone quickly, rolling his eyes. "That was the coroner's tech," he said, looking around at us all.

"And?" I prompted.

"Get this – that whole family, cause of death? Dehydration and starvation." Dean said. "There's no signs of restraint, no violence, no struggle. They just sat down and never got up."

"But there was a fully stocked kitchen just yards away," Bobby said with a frown.

"Right. What is this, a demon attack?" Sam asked and we all turned to look at Bobby.

"If it is, it's not like anything I ever saw, and I've seen plenty," he said, turning to me. "Your Dad's journal ever say anything like this?"

I shook my head. "Nothing," I replied.

"Well, what now? What should we do?" Dean asked, looking around.

"Uh, we're not gonna do anything," Isaac said with a smug look.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"You guys seem nice enough, but this ain't Scooby Doo, and we don't play well with others." Isaac replied. I smirked at the comment. _Fine by me_, I didn't like the guy anyway, he had been rubbing me the wrong way with his superior attitude from the moment I met him. The fact that he'd smashed Dean in the face hadn't really endeared him to me. His misogynistic attitude toward his wife wasn't doing him any favours either.

"Well, I think we'd cover a lot more ground if we all worked together," Sam said, trying to play the peacemaker.

"No offence," Isaac said, and I rolled my eyes at Dean who frowned back at me, "but we're not teaming with the damn fools who let the Devil's Gate get opened in the first place," he finished.

Dean raised his eyebrow, and exchanged an understanding look with me. "No offence?" He asked with a smirk.

"Isaac. Like you've never made a mistake." Tamara admonished her husband.

"Oh yeah, yeah. Locked my keys in the car, turned my laundry pink. Never brought on the end of the world though," he said sarcastically.

Dean chuckled, but there was an anger underlying his stance. "All right. That's enough," he said with a warning.

Sam glanced at his brother, frowning. "Guys, this isn't helping. Dean..."

"Look," Isaac said, interrupting, staring Dean down. "there are a couple hundred more demons out there now. We don't know where they are, when they'll strike. There ain't enough hunters in the world to handle something like this. You brought war down on us – on all of us."

"Okay, that's quite enough testosterone for now," Tamara said, taking Isaac by the arm and pulling him out of the room. Dean crossed his arms and huffed, watching them go.

"Great," I groaned, running a hand across my face. I just wanted to leave, but it was late. Looked like we were bunking down with a couple of people who absolutely hated us. "Think it's too late to get a motel?" I asked Dean, coming over to rest my hands on his hips. He looked at me and relaxed his stance, glancing at Bobby while wrapping his arms around my waist.

"I think it's best we stay here the night," Bobby said. "Get a fresh start in the morning." I sighed, leaning into Dean. Great, just great.

* * *

_**Department Store  
****Lincoln, Nebraska**_

**Dean's POV**

I don't know how we'd gotten to this point, I think it had all started with Beth bending over to look a display of shoes where one of the witnesses had last seen the victim, she was looking for sulphur or something. I was checking out her ass and the way she moved in the new jeans she was wearing.

I'd pulled a couple of revealing tops off the nearest rack to me and pushed her toward the change room. "I think you should try these on," I'd said, "And I think I should give you a hand."

We were tucked away in the change room cubicle where I was kissing along Beth's collarbone, she was down to jeans and a bra as I ran my hands around her waist, trailing my fingers along her lower back. She moaned softly at the touch, kissing me back with a quiet hunger.

A knock at the cubicle door drew our attention to the outer world and Beth raised her eyebrow.

"Yes?" She asked tentatively, turning to start kissing along my neck.

"Guys, what do you think you are doing?" Sam's voice sounded from the other side of the door. I groaned and opened it, showing him exactly what we were doing. Sam flushed and turned his back to us.

"I'm … testing out the merchandise. What are you doing?" I asked him.

"Working," Sam said pointedly. "Dead body, possible demon attack – that kind of stuff?"

Beth was pulling on her top again and buttoning it up at the front, shaking her head.

"Sam, I'm sorry," I said to him, turning on my pathetic look. "It's just, I don't have much time left, and... got to make every second count," I said, laying it on thick. It was kind of true, but it wasn't the whole reason I was doing this. Beth needed the distraction too, because if she was allowed to think for too long on what had really happened at those crossroads she was going to have a break down, and I really didn't know what I was going to do when that time came, so I was trying to delay it for as long as I could.

"Yeah, right," Sam said, looking at me a little apologetically. "All right. Sorry."

"Apology accepted," I said with a smirk, and I turned back to Beth, pulling her back into my arms for another kiss.

She froze, looking out past both Sam and I, and then a smile came on to her face. I turned to see what the sudden interest was in, and saw Bobby walking into the store. He was wearing a suit and tie, his hair slicked back – he looked, well, downright respectful.

"Whoa!" I said, whistling at him. He stopped to admire himself in the mirror and I grinned. "Looking spiffy Bobby. What were you, a g-man?" I asked.

"Attorney for the D.A.'s office," he replied, turning to face us. "I just spoke to the suspect."

"Yeah? So, what do you think?" Sam asked. "Was she possessed or what?"

"Don't think so," Bobby answered. "There's none of the usual signs – no blackouts, no loss of control. Totally lucid. Just, she really wanted those shoes. Spilled a glass of holy water on her just to be sure, nothing."

"Maybe she's just some random whack job?" I asked.

"If it had been an isolated incident, maybe, but first the family, now this?" Bobby said, shaking his head. "I believe in a lot of things. Coincidence ain't one of them. Did you kids find anything around here?"

"No sulphur, nothing," Beth said, shaking her head.

"Well, maybe something," I said, nodding to the camera in the ceiling. I looked at Sam with a smirk. "See? I'm working."

* * *

_**Security Room  
Department Store**_

**Sam's POV**

Getting access to the security room hadn't been a problem. The manager thought we were a combination of FBI and local law enforcement, and had been more than happy to show us up to see the footage from right before the attack.

I was slouched in a chair, staring at the screen. Dean and Beth were conversing quietly at the back of the room, and Bobby was hovering over my shoulder. Beth sighed at Dean, a little agitated and I frowned – I didn't know what they were discussing. Dean reached out to touch her face and smooth over the irritation like he always did; I shook my head, the man had talent, even I had to admit it.

After a moment they both turned, coming over to where I was sitting.

"Anything interesting?" Dean asked me, they were both back to business as usual.

I sat forward, nodding at the screen. "I don't know yet. Might just be a guy...or it might be our guy."

We all watched as a red-haired bearded man approached our attacker in the store. She had been flipping through a sales rack when he put his hand on her shoulder, speaking to her in a low tone while looking at the girl who had been murdered just moments later. After he'd finished talking to the blonde he smiled and walked away. Nothing further. It still seemed odd because just moments later our attacker was obsessing over a pair of shoes that she hadn't even seemed to want just minutes earlier, and it had led to the death of the other woman.

It was enough for us to decide to investigate further, taking print outs of the guy's photo and deciding to canvass the area. Splitting up outside the store, I went in one direction, Dean the other. Bobby and Beth took the other side of the road. I was deep in thought, trying to puzzle out just what the connection could be between the man in the video and the attacker and victim. Footsteps fell behind me, not like the other people around me, they sounded different, determined, like I was being followed.

I slowed down and bowed my head, waiting to see if the stride changed, it did, slowly just slightly so I spun around to get a look at whoever it was. A delivery man pushing a trolley crossed my view and when he was out of the way the pavement was empty, and whatever I had been hearing, or sensing, was gone. I swallowed nervously, this whole case had me on edge, I didn't like it one iota.

When I found the others, literally hours and hours later, they were sitting in Bobby's car outside a bar, watching for our prey. I'd taken the Impala to look into our John Doe on the video, and so they were all crammed into Bobby's car. Beth was in the very back, leaning forward and looking out the windshield at the bar off to the side. I smirked and decided to give them a little scare.

Sneaking up behind them I pounded loudly on the window where Dean was sitting. All three of them jumped so high they nearly hit the roof. I grinned and opened the door.

"That's not funny!" Dean said with a frown.

"Yeah." I said with a grin, pushing Dean forward into the dash as I flipped his seat forward and squeezed into the back with Beth. "Uh, all right, so – so, John Doe's name is Walter Rosen." I informed them. Dean sat back with a groan and shut the door. "He's from Oak Park, just west of Chicago. Went missing about a week ago."

"The night the Devil's Gate opened?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," I said with a nod.

"So you think he's possessed?" Beth asked from beside me.

"It's a good bed." I said, but that was about as far as I'd gotten.

"So what, he just walks up to someone, touches them, and they go stark raving psycho?" Dean asked.

"Those demons that got out at the gate – they're gonna do all kinds of things we haven't seen," Bobby said from the driver's seat. It was a sobering thought.

"You mean the demons we let out?" I said, feeling a stab of guilt at how we had failed to stop that from happening.

Beth groaned and leaned forward to Dean. "What time is it?" She asked, looking tired.

"Seven past midnight," he said, looking at his watch. "You ok?" He asked and I looked at her a little closer, she did look a little pale.

"Not really," she confessed, lying back against the seat again. "I feel like I'm having head spins again, no fun at all." I looked at her and reached over to tug at the rosary she always wore around her neck, pulling it free of her top. I held it up for her and looked at her pointedly.

Beth sighed and took it, nodding. She had a mantra she used, the _Litany of St Joseph_ who was a protector against demons, which helped push back the presence she felt when demons were around. The more she prayed, the easier she handled the demons, strange that. Yet it worked. Problem with Beth was that she'd kind of lost faith in anything lately, so getting her to pray wasn't easy.

She took the rosary from my hands and attempted a scowl, falling short. With a nod, Beth closed her eyes and started to whisper barely under her breath. Dean threw me a smile and I leaned forward.

"You sure this is the right place?" Bobby asked.

"No. But I spent all day canvassing this stupid town with this guy's stupid mug, and, supposedly, he drinks at this stupid bar," Dean muttered, crossing his arms.

"Guys," I said with a nod, noticing as our prey got out of a car and walked toward the bar.

"All right," Dean said, reaching for the handle of the door. "Show-time!"

"Wait a minute," Bobby said, stilling him.

"What?" Dean asked with a frown.

"What did I just say? We don't know what to expect out of this guy. We should tail him till we know for sure," Bobby pointed out.

"Oh, so he kills someone and we just sit here with our junk in our hands?!" Dean asked.

"We're no good dead!" Bobby said, stating facts. "And we're not gonna make a move until we know what the score is."

"Hey Bobby, I don't think that's an option." I said, noticing a familiar car pull into the parking lot.

"Why not?" Bobby asked.

I nodded and then pointed as Isaac and Tamara got out of their car, following our guy toward the bar.

"Damn it!" Bobby cursed, hitting the steering wheel.

* * *

_**The Old Terminal Pub  
****Lincoln, Nebraska**_

**Beth's POV**

I had been reciting my litany over and over, focusing on it until there was nothing else in my mind. The nausea started to recede and I the head spins stopped. I had no idea why this helped, but I wished I did. John popped into my mind all of a sudden, he had been fresh in my mind since seeing him at the Devil's Gate; I was suddenly hit with the sensation I'd felt in the hospital the night he'd made the deal with Yellow-Eyes. The slight tug on my solar plexus that connected me to the essence of the demon.

Opening my eyes I suddenly realised why it was that I felt so sick – that whole bar was full of demons. "No..." I gasped, drawing the attention of the three men in the car.

"What is it?" Sam asked, looking at me in concern.

"We have to get them out of there, now! That place is full of demons!" I said urgently, starting to move. I felt a wave of nausea hit me again, like being caught unawares on a surf beach when a wave washed ashore.

Dean and Bobby were out of the car in an instant, Sam and I followed, crawling past the bucket seats. Dean reached the bar first, shouldering the door, but it was locked from the inside. He and Sam rallied together, hitting it in unison but it was no good, they were old heavy doors, and they weren't budging.

"We have to get in there!" Dean shouted, looking around. The windows were all barred, and maybe there was a back entrance, but surely they'd have that locked too?

There was a scream from inside, it was Tamara. I looked up panicked when I heard it, and Bobby went running for the car. "Come on!" He yelled at us and we sprinted after him. He was rummaging in the back of the car, grabbing huge bottles of holy water, he tossed one to each of us.

A minute later Bobby roared the Chevelle to life, Dean jumped into the passenger seat and Bobby floored it. The tires screeched as he drove it straight for the bar, seconds before he hit the doors he spun the car and reversed right through the doors. Sam and I ran in behind them, swinging the holy water in front of us at the crowd of demons. Bobby and Dean exited the car following suit.

Sam and I got ahead of the others and I tossed holy water in the face of the demon holding Tamara, she let her go and Sam grabbed the hysterical hunter, pulling her into the car as she screamed for Isaac. Bobby jumped back in the car, and I backed up, glancing down to see that Isaac was prostrate on the floor, a bottle of Drano next to him.

"Beth, we gotta go! He's dead! Get the car!" Sam yelled at me and I ran for the exit, he was right, we had to get out of here. Dean was fighting with a couple of demons, I paused in the door way.

"Dean, come on!" I yelled at him. He kept right on fighting and I saw him run to the back of the Chevelle and open the trunk. He looked up at me and caught my eye.

"Go!" He yelled and I bit my lip, running as one of the other demons recovered from the holy water attacks and looked in my direction.

I said a quick prayer and ran for the Impala, jumping into the front seat at the same time I heard Dean's shouts.

"Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!" Dean shouted, jumping into the passenger side of the Chevelle. Bobby floored it out of the bar, rocketing down the road and I pushed the Impala to match his speed, which she did easily.

I felt like I was going to throw up, but was cheered by the knowledge that in the heat of the moment my dizziness and nausea seemed to have disappeared. I had been able to function, even if there had been that slight undercurrent of sickness. I said another prayer of thanks to whoever was listening, giving gratitude for small miracles. At least I wasn't going to be a complete burden in this demon war, like I'd expected I might be. I also wasn't sure why I'd just started praying to angels again, I frowned, thinking about it. Maybe I'd never stopped deep down, but seeing those demons sure brought it out of me.

We sped down the highway toward Isaac and Tamara's house, the bar rapidly fading from view.

* * *

_**Isaac & Tamara's House  
**_**  
Dean's POV**

We'd tied the Red-haired Demon to a chair under devil's trap, and now we were arguing about whether or not to go back for Isaac.

"I saw we're going back – now!" Tamara yelled at Sam and Beth, who were staunchly against the idea. They'd gotten the closest look outside of Tamara, and they were convinced he was dead.

"Hold on a second," Sam said forcefully.

"I left my husband bloody on the floor!" Tamara cried out, tears streaming down her face.

"Okay, and we understand that," Beth said, reaching out a hand toward her. "But we can't go back."

"Fine. Then you stay. But I'm heading back to that bar," Tamara said resolutely.

"I'll go with her," I said, taking her arm and heading for the door.

"What?! No! It's suicide Dean!" Beth shouted at me and I looked back at her.

"So what? I'm dead already!" I said, wishing I could take it back as soon as I said it. Beth's eyes looked shocked and she backed away quickly, shaking her head and leaving the room. I wanted to chase after her, but there was a job to be done, someone had to do it, and you didn't leave a good man behind. Dad had taught me that much.

"How you gonna kill them?" Sam said loudly at me, letting Beth go. "You can't shoot 'em. You can't stab 'em. They're not just gonna wait in line to get exorcised!"

"I don't care!" Tamara yelled at him. Sam's face contorted in anger and he looked like he was ready to explode.

"We don't even know how many of them there are!" He yelled back.

Bobby looked up from the book he was reading and cast an appraising look at us all. "Yeah, we do. There's seven." He looked rattled, glancing between Tamara and me. "Do you have any idea who we're up against?" He asked.

"No. Who?" I asked, confused. What did it matter if it were seven or seventy? We still had to go back.

"The seven deadly sins, live and in the flesh!" Bobby said seriously, and that gave me pause. I looked around and grinned.

"What's in the box?!" I said to the room. It fell on deaf ears and everyone just stared at my sudden outburst. "Brad Pitt? Seven? No?" I said, getting no response. I sighed. _Beth would have gotten it, but I'd just gone and pissed her off. Not to mention probably bringing on the start of the very breakdown I'd been trying to distract her from all this time._

Bobby snapped the book he was holding shut and thrust it into my hands. "What's this?" I asked, turning it over in my hands.

" _'Binsfield's classifications of demons'_," Bobby replied. "In 1589 Binsfield ID'd the seven sins – not just as human vices, but as actual devils."

"The family – they were touched by Sloth." Sam said, realisation dawning in his eyes. "And the shopper..."

"That's Envy's doing – the customer we got in the next doom. I couldn't suss it out at first, until Isaac. He was touched with an awful Gluttony," Bobby said to Tamara, trying to talk some sense into her.

Tamara was shifting from one foot to the other, shaking her head and grasping at her neck with one hand. "I don't give a rat's ass if they're the Three Stooges or the Four Tops! I'm gonna slaughter every last one of them!" She said angrily, pointing at Bobby.

Beth walked back into the room, her eyes flashing anger at the woman. "We already did it your way!" She said loudly, pushing past Bobby to look Tamara in the eyes. "You burst in there half-cocked and look what happened!" I was startled at how frightening her voice was, it was firm and a fine tension rang from it. "These demons haven't been topside in _half a millennium_! We're talking medieval, dark ages! We've never faced anything close to this! So we are going to take a breath..._and figure out what our next move is_!" She yelled the last part at Tamara, who stared at the young girl in front of her. Beth was the shortest and slightest out of the lot of us, and she'd just put everyone in their place.

She took a breath, stepping back and her eyes turned sorrowful. "I am sorry for your loss," she said quietly and then she turned to me, taking the book out of my hands, and shoving me backwards.

"And you! Upstairs, now! We need to talk," she stormed past me, waves of anger rolling of her, and I grimaced, taking a deep breath. Bobby and Sam were looking over at me shaking their heads as I debated whether or not it was wise to follow her right now. It wasn't really a choice, especially when I reached the hallway leading upstairs. Beth was waiting on the landing and saw me hesitate. "Dean! I said now!"

Sam snickered and shook his head at me again. "Been told, man," he said said, and he picked up the book that Beth had put aside when she shoved me, starting to flip through it.

I sighed and trudged up the stairs, going over all the possible scenarios in my head. _She was pissed, and that was fair enough, I shouldn't have said what I had, but how was I going to get out of it?_

Beth was in the first bedroom I came to when I reached the second floor. I'd been expecting her to be pacing the room, furious at me. I hadn't been expecting to find her sitting on the edge of a bed, crying like there was no tomorrow. _Damn!_

"Beth, hey, come on, don't cry..." I said, closing the door behind us and moving toward her. She looked up at me and there was such desperation and sadness in her eyes it broke my heart.

"I can't do this, I can't Dean... I can't just go around pretending like everything is okay. Like we're going to wake up and this is all a bad dream," she said to me as I knelt in front of her, taking her hands in mine.

"Baby we don't have a choice," I said to her, looking up at those big brown eyes that were like liquid pools of chocolate right now.

"There's always a choice!" She said urgently. "There has to be something we can do, someone or some thing we can deal with, we just have to figure it out."

"Beth, you heard what she said, we can't welch on this deal," I said to her, and it broke my heart as much to say it as it did hers to hear it.

She burst into fresh tears, burying her face in her hands. I moved up on the bed with her, sliding my arm around her shoulders, feeling completely useless.

"Well.. what about these demons, huh?" She asked eventually, looking up. "What if we could catch them all, maybe they're valuable to someone down below? I mean, god, they're the seven deadly sins! That has to mean something."

I shook my head at her. "It was a lucky chance that I even got that one in the trunk, I don't see the other six being as gullible." I said to her, pulling her to lean against me as I kissed her forehead.

"I can't do this Dean," she said again and I looked at her sadly. I knew how she felt. Every morning I woke up thinking the same thing. One look at her though and it was enough to make me get out of bed and keep going.

"I need you to keep going Beth, for me. I need you to." I said to her. "I won't make it without you." It was the same old thing, all those years ago. She'd been a part of my life for so long I couldn't imagine it without her: eleven years since she'd joined us, it was a lifetime. She definitely wasn't the messed up teenager I'd caught in my arms the day we exorcised that demon from her.

She furrowed her brow at me, and shook her head. "We've had five years together Dean, five years. It's not long enough, I want another five, and I had it. I had it, if you hadn't been such a stubborn ass and just let me do it. _I owed you guys that much_," she said that last part so quietly I almost missed it.

"You don't owe us anything Beth, this isn't a damn scorecard. This is your life, your soul we're talking about." I caught her jaw in my hand, forcing her to look at me. "You're the most important person in my life Beth. I couldn't keep doing what I do without you. I would give my soul a thousand times over rather than think about you in a place like that, and me here without you." _There, I'd said it, and it was the god's honest truth._

"Instead you've condemned me to that very existence," she said sadly, tears welling in her eyes again.

"You're stronger than me, you'll get through it," I said quietly.

"No I won't Dean... I won't... I can't." She said, fresh tears starting to fall again. I pulled her sideways into my lap and she buried her face in my neck, sobbing broken heartedly. I held her, rocking gently, wondering how we were ever going to get through this coming year.

* * *

_**Isaac & Tamara's House**_

**Sam's POV**

Bobby, Tamara and I were gathered in the room holding the demon. Envy turned his black eyes to us and chuckled.

"So you know who I am, huh?" He said, looking around the room.

"We do. We're not impressed." Bobby said to him, crossing his arms.

"Why are you here? What are you after?" I asked him, wanting to get to the bottom of it all.

"He asked you a question," Dean's voice sounded and he strode into the room looking like a man on a mission. "What do you want?"

Beth followed him and it was fairly obviously she'd been crying. She seemed a little less on edge, like maybe she'd finally been able to let go of some of what she was feeling. I figured that the yelling had just been a cover for the deeper issue that we were all feeling.

Envy continued to chuckle at us, not answering our questions. Dean opened a flask of holy water, a gift of Bobby's, and splashed it on him.

"Ya! Ohh!" Envy grimaced as his skin sizzled. "We already have what we want," he said, glaring at Dean.

"What's that?" Beth asked, frowning at him.

"We're out. We're free. Thanks to you, my kind are everywhere. I am legion, for we are many. So me, I'm just celebrating. Having a little fun," he said with a smile.

"Fun?" I asked sceptically.

"Yeah. Fun. See, some people crochet. Others golf. Me? I like to see people's insides... on their outside." Envy said staring straight at Tamara, goading her.

"I'm gonna put you down like a dog," Tamara threatened.

"Please," Envy said, laughing. "You really think you're better than me?" He laughed harder. "Which one of you can cast the first stone, huh? What about you, Dean? You're practically a walking billboard or gluttony and lust." Dean raised his eyebrow, nodding. That was a fair call. "And Tamara. All that wrath. Oooh. Tsk, tsk, tsk. It's the reason you and Isaac became hunters in the first place, isn't it? It's no much easier to drink in the rage than to face what really happened all those years ago." Tamara's face twisted in anger and she backhanded him hard across the face. Bobby and Dean stepped in to pull her off him.

"Aah! Whew!" Envy said with a laugh, still reeling from the hit. "My point exactly. And you call us sins. We're not sins, man. We are natural human instinct. And you can repress and deny us all you want, but the truth is, you are just animals. Horny...greedy...hungry...violent animals. And you know what? You'll be slaughtered like animals too." He stopped, like he was listening to something we couldn't hear. "The others – they're coming for me," he said confidently.

"Maybe. But they're not gonna find you.." Envy raised an eyebrow at him, looking sceptical. "Because you'll be in Hell. Someone send this clown packing," Dean said to a shocked look from the demon.

"My pleasure," Tamara said, stepping forward with a book and starting to recite the exorcism in it. Beth actually looked surprised for a moment, usually exorcisms were left to her, she watched Tamara for a moment and then shrugged, following Dean out of the room.

* * *

_**Isaac & Tamara's House**_

**Beth's POV**

"I don't think we're gonna have to worry about hunting them," Bobby commented as we left Envy alone with Tamara.

"What does that mean?" Sam asked, confused.

"I think maybe this joker's right. They're gonna be hunting us. And they're not gonna quit easy," Bobby said.

"You guys, why don't you take Tamara and head for the hills? I'll stay back, slow them down, buy you a little time." Dean said. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Jesus Dean, what the hell did we just talk about? I'm sick of this self-sacrifice shit!" I said to him. Sam was nodding with me.

"You're insane Dean. Just forget about it, okay?" He said, looking at his brother.

"Sam and Beth are right," Bobby said.

"There's six of them, guys. We're outmanned, we're outgunned. We'll be dead by dawn." Dean said.

"Maybe, but there's no place to run that they won't find us," Bobby argued, running a hand across his tired face.

"Look, if we're going down, we're going down together, all right?" Sam said, and Dean looked at him, perplexed.

"Well, let's not make it easy for them," I said with a smirk, I'd just had a few ideas come into my head on how to at least go down with a fight.

There was a final scream from the other room and a gust of wind as Tamara finished up the exorcism. She came in to us, looking smug and satisfied.

"Demon's out of the guy," Tamara said.

"And the guy?" I asked, watching her walk past us.

"He didn't make it," she said coldly. _Had she even checked? She'd barely exorcised him before walking in to us_. I stared at her, shaking my head.

"I really, really don't like her," I muttered under my breath, Dean turned to look at me, raising his eyebrow – he was the only one who heard the comment.

A few hours later we were in position. I looked across the room at Dean, he was sitting on the floor with a row of candles behind him, loading his shotgun. Sam was on the other side of the room filling flasks with holy water. I was reciting my litany to the point that I was going to be hearing it in my sleep, I'd just started to feel sick again.

Dean watched me silently for a while, I couldn't read what was in his eyes, he was guarded and cold, all business: the hunter business. The lights started to flicker, and an old radio sparked to life at the same time my stomach started to churn.

"Here we go," Dean said, cocking the shotgun and getting to his feet. I grabbed the bottle of holy water I had next to me and stood with him, moving to look out a window.

Outside we started to hear Isaac's voice, screaming for Tamara.

"Tamara! Tamara! Tamara! Tamara! Help me! Please!" The voice went on and on. "Tamara! I got away, but I'm hurt bad! I need help!"

"It's not him," Dean said. "It's one of the demons, possessing his corpse." I nodded, swallowing hard. _Of course it was. _Didn't make it any easier to listen to.

Isaac started to pound on the door to the house, and I stilled myself, taking a breath. I could feel the tug on my solar plexus coming from him, it was definitely a demon.

"Baby! Why won't you let me in? You left me behind back there. How could you do that? We swore... at that lake in Michigan. Remember? We swore we would never leave each other." I glanced up at Dean and his eyes actually looked conflicted. We'd sworn the same thing, only our lake had been in Wisconsin. The state where nothing good ever happened, except maybe that one thing.

For a moment I felt sorry for Tamara, hiding in the next room with Bobby, being forced to listen to that. If it had been Dean, I probably would have caved by now.

"You just gonna leave me out here? You just gonna let me die?! I guess that's what you do dear! Like that night those things came to our house...came for our daughter! You just let her die, too." I flinched, listening to the evil spew from its mouth.

"You son of a bitch!" I heard Tamara yell.

"Tamara, no!" Bobby called out as she opened the door, breaking the line of salt we had as protection. I saw Tamara leap forward and tackle Isaac down the steps. She landed on top of him and raised a stake made from Palo Santo.

"You're not Isaac!" She yelled, and plunged the wood deep into the chest of her own husband, whose skin began to sizzle while the demon screamed.

The other demons entered the house together, and suddenly we were all in motion. An over-weight middle-aged guy made a bee-line for Bobby who was backing up slowly toward the kitchen and dining. He stalked after Bobby confidently, smiling until he ran into an invisible wall. He looked around, confused and then noticed the devil's trap on the ceiling. Bobby smiled. "Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son," he said.

I smirked and stepped forward, starting to recite the exorcism rites from memory.

* * *

_**Isaac & Tamara's House**_

**Dean's POV**

I ran down the hall, heading for the back entrance. A pretty blonde ran into me and I spun toward her, swinging the flask of holy water toward her. She blocked my move, knocking the flask from my hand and pushing me back down the hall, stalking after me with a determined look in her eye and a smile on her face.

The screams of one of the demons downstairs echoed from down the hall and I could hear the faint sounds of Beth as she read the bastard his exorcism rite. The demon on my ass pushed me into the bathroom and I backed up, watching her warily.

"I suppose you're Lust?" I said.

"Baby, I'm whatever you want me to be," she said with a lascivious smile.

"Yeah right, just stay back," I ordered her, glancing around the room.

"Or what?" She asked with a smug smile.

"Good point," I conceded, frowning.

"I'm not gonna hurt you – not yet," she said, advancing on me and running a hand up my chest. "Not unless you want me to." I felt a warm tingling fill my body and I was instantly aroused. All I could think about was kissing those soft, pouty lips. _Beth was gonna kill me_. I grabbed Lust and thrust my tongue into her mouth, kissing her like I hadn't had sex in a year.

She kissed me back, moaning and I remembered the plan. I started to pull her with me toward the tub. Beth came running into the room at that moment, and seeing me lip locked with the demon, her jaw dropped.

"Dean!" She called out, and her eyes narrowed at the demon. She stalked forward, grabbing the demon by the hair at the same time as I pulled back the shower curtain. The tub was full, and we'd already blessed it, Lust was about to get a sizzling hot bath – in Holy Water. Beth and I pushed her forward into the tub of water, and Lust screamed in agony.

* * *

_**Upstairs**_

**Sam's POV**

I was in an upstairs bedroom, quite why I'd gone with this plan was beyond me, but it was done now. The door to the room flew off it's hinges and hit the wall opposite as three demons entered.

"Here's Johnny!" A demon in a business suit said with a smile. He advanced on me and I backed up. Just as I thought it was going to work, the demon stopped, holding up a hand to stop the two demons that were flanking him. He looked up and spotted the devil's trap we'd drawn on the ceiling, smirking at me.

"Come on. You really think something like that is gonna fool someone like me? I mean, me?" He asked arrogantly.

"Let me guess," I said, raising my chin. "You're Pride."

Pride grinned and gestured toward the ceiling. A long splitting crack appeared, destroying the devil's trap. Damn!

"The root of all sin," he said proudly. "And you... are Sam Winchester. That's right. I've heard of you. We've all heard of you. The prodigy. The boy King. Looking at you now, I got to tell you, don't believe the hype." His black eyes looked at me and his voice dripped with condescension.

"You think I'm gonna bow to a cut-rate, piss-poor human like you? I have my pride after all." He smiled. "And now with your yellow-eyed friend dead, I guess I don't really have to do a damn thing, now do I? You're fair game now, boy, and it's open season."

Pride hit me hard, and I fell to the ground only to find his arm wrapped tightly around my throat and I was starting to lose air.

Suddenly a young blonde woman appeared out of nowhere, and she pulled a knife from a holster at her thigh. Without any hesitation she reached out and slashed the throat of the other male demon in the room, he fell to the ground, dead. The woman, Greed, spun on her heel and faced off with the new interloper.

"You!" She growled, punching the blonde twice. The girl retaliated, plunging her knife into the chin of the demon, and it too hit the floor dead. Pride released me, moving toward the woman and grabbing her arms behind her, pinning her to him for a moment. I pulled him away and punched him in the face. The impact of my punch caused Pride to spin, right into the path of the mystery woman and her knife. She stabbed it upward into his chin, and shower of sparks and demonic energy spilled out and the body fell to the ground.

"Who the Hell are you?" I asked breathlessly, hoping I wasn't next on her hit list.

"I'm the girl that just saved your ass," she said with a smirk.

"Well I just saved yours too," I pointed out, she grinned at me.

"See you around, Sam," she chuckled and then walked out the door.

"Wait!" I called out, moving to follow her. I ran to the hallway but by the time I got there, she had vanished.

* * *

_**Isaac & Tamara's House – Outside  
Next Morning**_

**Beth's POV  
**  
I grunted and rolled the last of the corpses who didn't survive the night's attacks into the shallow pit that we had dug in the back yard. Standing, I looked over at Dean who was pouring fuel on the bodies, Sam sprinkling salt at the same time. Several yards away, Tamara and Bobby had built a funeral pyre, and she was standing next to it. Isaac's body was given the true hunter's burial.

"Think she's gonna be all right?" Sam asked, looking over at her.

"No," I said, watching her quietly. "Definitely not." I tried to block the image out of my mind, to not associate it with something I would most likely be doing this time next year, but it was there, like a bad smell that wouldn't go away, haunting my dreams, and dogging my every waking moment as well.

Bobby came out of the house, he looked exhausted.

"Well, you look like hell warmed over," Dean quipped at him, smiling.

"You try exorcising all night, and see how you feel," he said to Dean. I smiled, I could relate, I felt exactly the same way.

"Any survivors, guys?" Sam asked, looking from Bobby to me.

"Well, the pretty girl and the heavy guy, they'll make it. Lifetime of therapy bills ahead, but still..." Bobby's voice trailed off and I grimaced, looking down at the ones we couldn't save.

"That's more than you can say for these guys," I said softly. Dean nodded his agreement, looking at me silently.

"Bobby, that knife – what kind of blade can kill a demon?" Sam asked. I frowned and shook my head, something about that sounded familiar, but I still couldn't put my finger on it.

"Yesterday, I would have said there was no such thing," Bobby said, and we all frowned. What Bobby didn't know about the supernatural world you could fit in a thimble, it was not a comforting thought.

"I'm just gonna ask it again," Dean said, a smirk coming to his face as he looked at Sam. "Who was that masked chick?" I rolled my eyes at his reference to _The Lone Ranger_. "Actually, the more troubling question would be, 'how come the girl can fight better than you?'" he finished, and Sam frowned.

"Three demons, Dean. At once!" Sam said, shaking his head.

"Ah! At once." Dean laughed, looking over at me with a raised eyebrow. "Hey, whatever it takes to get you through the night, pal," Dean said with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, if you want a troubling question, I got one for you," I said quietly, moving up beside Dean and slipping my arm around his waist so I could feel his body warmth. I was cold to the bone and feeling lost and dejected.

"What's that?" Dean asked, putting his arm around my shoulders and pulling me close.

"If we let out the seven deadly sins, what else did we let out?" I said quietly, staring down at the bodies in front of us. We all stared for a moment.

"You're right. That is troubling." Dean said, frowning. Sam nodded and lit a match, catching the whole book alight before tossing it into the ditch and setting fire to the bodies.

A few hours later, Isaac's pyre had burned down, and we were preparing to leave.

"See you guys around," Tamara said, walking toward her car, a bag slung over her shoulder.

"Tamara," Bobby said, drawing her attention, she stopped to look back at us. "The world just got a lot scarier. Be careful."

"You too," Tamara said with a nod before climbing in her car and driving off.

Bobby turned back to us, a sombre look on his face.

"Keep your eyes peeled for omens. I'll do the same," he said, looking at each of us.

"You got it," Dean said with a nod, his arm still wrapped around my waist, where it had pretty much been for the last few hours on and off as we prepared to leave.

"Wait, Bobby. We can win this war, right?" Sam asked, looking worried.

Bobby paused and looked at us. I could see the doubt in his eyes. I'd been thinking about it myself. I tried not to think about the world and what had just occurred in it, because I knew it was a long fight ahead of us, and maybe, just maybe it might be one we didn't survive.

"Catch you on the next one," Bobby said, not answering Sam's question. He kissed me on the cheek before heading for his car. He looked over at the three of us one more time before getting in and driving away.

"So, where to?" Dean asked, looking down at me. I shrugged, I didn't care. Everything I needed, I had in my arms right now. We looked over at Sam, questioning.

"Uh, I don't know. I was thinking Louisiana, maybe?" He said.

"Little early for Mardi Gras, isn't it?" Dean asked with a grin.

"Yeah. Listen, I was talking to Tamara, and she mentioned this hoodoo priestess outside of Shreveport that might be able to help us out. You know, with you – with your demon deal." Sam said. I felt Dean's arm tense around me and he looked down at me, the same sadness in his eyes that had been there during our conversation in the bedroom last night.

"Nah," Dean said, shaking his head.

"'Nah'? What does that mean, 'nah'?" Sam asked, frowning at us.

"Sam, no hoodoo spell is going to break this deal. It's a goose chase," I said to him, looking down at my feet.

"We don't know that," Sam argued.

"Yes, we do. Forget it. She can't help. We're not going, and that's that." Dean said as Sam tried to argue. Dean looked at me again. "What about Reno, huh?"

"You know what?" Sam asked, his face turning angry. "I've had it. I've been bending over backwards trying to be nice to you, and … I don't care anymore!" he said, waving his hand in the air.

"That didn't last long," Dean said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, you know what? I've been busting my ass trying to keep you alive, Dean, and you act like you couldn't care less. What, you got some kind of death wish or something?!" He looked from Dean to me, and then back again.

Dean looked down at me and then up at Sam. "It's not like that," he said quietly.

"Then what's it like, Dean?" Sam asked, still angry.

"Sam..." I said, biting my lip. He turned to look at me, realising something was wrong.

"Please, tell me." He said to us. Dean sighed heavily, leaning in to kiss me on the top of my head, his hand tangling in my hair.

I looked at Sam, tears once again pooling in my eyes. I fought them back this time. "We trap the crossroads demon, trick it, try to welch our way out of the deal in any way? You die, Sam. Okay? You die. Those are the terms." I said.

"And Beth's soul goes back to being owned by that bitch. There's no way out of it." Dean said sternly. "If you try to find a way, so help me God, I'm gonna stop you – _both of you_." He said finally, looking from Sam to me.

Sam sighed and looked at us sorrowfully. "How could you make that deal Beth?" He asked softly. I bit my lip.

"Because I couldn't live with you dead, Sam. _We_ couldn't live with you dead. I promised Dad, and I had to do whatever I could to live up to that." I said, looking down. "I wasn't counting on Dean walking in and being all knight in shining armour rescuing the damsel in distress," I sighed.

"So what, now we live and Dean dies?" He asked.

"That's the general idea, yeah." Dean said with a nod. He pulled away from me and started to walk toward the Impala. I felt the tears trickle down my cheeks again.

"Yeah, well, you're a hypocrite Dean." Sam said, following him. "How did you feel when Dad sold his soul for you? Because we were all there. I remember. You were twisted and broken. Now you've both gone and done the same thing. _To me._ What you guys did was selfish!" Sam said angrily.

"Yeah, you're right. It was selfish. But I'm okay with that," Dean said, "Hell, if Beth hadn't done it, I probably would have gone down that road eventually too." I looked over at him, surprised. He looked at me.

"I know I said I wouldn't have, but I lied, okay? Maybe I wouldn't have right away, but you're right. One of us was always gonna do it, it just should have always been me, I was already dead, I should never have come back." Dean said. I crossed my arms, fighting back all that pain and anguish. "I'm okay with how it's gone down," Dean reiterated.

"Well I'm not," Sam said, echoing my thoughts exactly.

"Tough!" Dean said, looking at him. "After everything I've done for this family, I think I'm entitled. I'm the oldest, and this is my decision. You're alive, Beth's soul is safe, I can live with that."

I struggled to wrap my head around this whole conversation, I was so tired; tired of fighting and wondering what was going to happen next.

"I got a year to live, guys. I'd like to make the most of it. So what do you say we kill some evil sons of bitches and raise a little hell, huh?" Dean asked. Sam and I both shook our heads.

"You're unbelievable," Sam muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Very true," Dean said, smirking and getting in the driver's seat of the car. I paused, looking back at the farm house one more time and thinking about everything we'd just discussed. Yes, we were locked into this deal, yes it seemed all binding and airtight. But there had to be a way, and I wasn't giving up. I wasn't prepared yet to let Dean go to Hell for me. Sam looked across the car at me and the look in his eye told me that he felt the same way, this discussion was far from over. So let Dean have his fun, he was right, he was entitled. But this wasn't over, not yet, I wouldn't let it be.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter is: 7 Deadly Sins by Simple Minds.

* * *

Welcome to Season 3! Hope you enjoyed this version of Magnificent Seven. I tried the rolling POV on this one, taking each scene through Sam, Dean and Beth. It worked pretty well to give a bit of a perspective from all three on them on their new situation, I thought.

* * *

I'll be putting up Dean & Beth: The X-Files at some point too – which will basically just be all the sexy times in one story from Season 1 & 2 so far, and then ongoing from here. It'll be a little slow going as I have a pretty tight schedule over the next two weeks, and writing time will be limited to getting any new updates out rather than just rehashing old posts.

* * *

There's a new chapter up at _How To Save A Life_ too, be sure to go check it out and get some Dean & Beth time from a different perspective. Not to mention sexy John Winchester time! Just search for EarthhAngel and check it out under her stories.

* * *

Finally, the next update should be over at _All Hell Breaks Loose _as I finish up Part 3 of _Bring Me To Life _before marking that story off as done and dusted! (Yes, I will be covering Sam going off to Stanford in that one, thanks to everyone who has been requesting it!)

* * *

Please read & review, it only inspires me to keep on writing more when you do :D Cheers!


	3. The Kids Are Alright

_Hey, Mr. Bartender mix me a drink__  
__I really need something to tell me it's okay not to think,__  
__Because I've been to all these bars__  
__And I've seen all these places.__  
__I've hit on all these girls__  
__I've heard the same conversations._

_Cab driver, cab driver__  
__Take me away,__  
__'Cause I already know__  
__All the words that she'll say.__  
__And I'll be creepin' out the window__  
__At the first sign of day,__  
__'Cause every single night it seems to go the same w__ay._

_I think I've been here before,__  
__I think I've run into you,__  
__I know the things that you do,__  
__'Cause this is déjà vu._

* * *

**THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT**

* * *

_**Cicero, Indiana  
7 Years Ago**_

"_You're a Winchester all right," Jefferson muttered to me as we watched Dean making out with a pretty dark haired girl carrying a yoga mat. She looked disturbingly like me, aside from the tights. "You're as stubborn as the rest of them."_

_I smiled, looking down at my hands. Well, he was right about that._

"_He cares for you Beth," Jefferson said. "You should have seen him when you were missing." I looked sharply up at that comment. _

_Dean and I hadn't talked about the moments where I'd been captured by the homicidal spirit we'd been hunting, and what might have happened. We had nearly kissed when he rescued me, but we'd pushed each other away – John's rules ever present in our minds._

"_Well he has a funny way of showing it," I said, nodding as Dean and the girl slipped inside an apartment building together._

"_Take it from someone who knows – you can't have it both ways. If you harbour feelings for him, and expect him to wait for you, you'll only get hurt. You have to let him go... you can't sit on the fence, it's not fair." I nodded. "Tell him you love him, or let him go." Jefferson said quietly. _

_He was right. I had to let him go, didn't I? It was the only solution. I'd try harder, be a better daughter to John, a better sister to Dean and Sam. I'd try not to love him, even if it killed me. Not just for John, but for all of us. Tomorrow would be a better day._

* * *

_**Diner  
**__**Springfield, Illinois**__**  
**_

_**Present Day**_

Sam was tapping away at the keyboard of his laptop, he looked up as I came over to him, putting three giant milkshakes down in front of us. I had my phone tucked under my ear and was listening to Jefferson on the other end of the line. Sam glanced up at me as I slid one of the milkshakes to him.

"Anything?" I asked him, and he shook his head.

"No... not you Jefferson," I said when he got confused on the other line. "Although... is there anything you can think of?" I said, and listened as he started flipping through books, chattering away.

"There's got to be _something _out there that's going to be able to help us get this deal broken," Sam muttered, and I thought about all the research we'd been doing lately, there just seemed to be nothing out there that was going to help us.

I jumped as Dean rapped on the window outside us waved. Smiling, I waved back and tried to look casual.

"We have to keep looking, what about that ritual I sent you?" I said as Dean entered the diner.

"OK well I gotta go... yeah now.. yeah, ok, call me back! Ok, bye... bye!" I hung up and Dean looked suspiciously at us both now sitting with the laptop closed, saying nothing.

"Who was that?" He asked me, nodding toward my phone laying discarded on the table.

"Huh? Oh, I was just ordering a pizza." I said, he stared at me with a raised eyebrow.

"You do realise that we're in a restaurant?" He asked, looking around us.

"Yeah, yeah, just... Sam felt like pizza, you know?" I said, and Sam looked wildly at me, shaking his head.

"Okay, Weirdy Mcweirderton," Dean said, taking a seat in the booth next to me. "So, I think I got something," he said, changing the subject.

"Yeah?" Sam asked.

"Cicero, Indiana," Dean said and my heart kind of fell. "Guy falls on his own power saw."

"And? What, that's it? One power saw?" Sam asked.

"Well... yeah." Dean said, taking a sip of his milkshake. "Look, Cicero's not far from Indianapolis, and that _was _one of the cities that a cloud of demons descended on. What if it's connected?"

"I don't know Dean," I said quietly, "I mean, it does seem a little far fetched."

"Yeah, you really think this is a case?" Sam asked, looking sceptically at his brother.

"Well, I don't know. Could be," Dean said with a shrug as he tried to hide the real reason he wanted to go, because there had to be one, it wasn't like Dean to jump at such vague things.

We both just looked at him, yeah we'd investigated some strange stuff before. But a power saw?

"All right, there's something better in Cicero than just a case," he said, and I raised my eyebrow.

"And that is?" I asked.

"Barley Island Brewing Company," he looked at me with a twinkle in his eye. "You remember?" I rolled my eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, vaguely." I commented with a wry grin. We'd eaten there one night when John had been laid up with a broken ankle, Dean had almost died over their ribs.

"Vaguely?!" He scoffed. "I seem to remember a fair amount of groaning going on over those ribs."

"Yeah, from you," I said with a laugh. He bumped into my shoulder and chuckled.

"Come on, it'll be fun. Best ribs for like two hundred miles, it's only three hours away!" His eyes were sparkling with excitement and I exchanged a look with Sam, which was pretty much for show. He knew he had us, there was no way we'd turn him down.

"Oh come on! It's my dying wish," he said to drill it home. I sighed.

"Yeah, well how many dying wishes are you gonna get?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

Dean considered, then kissed me on the lips. "As many as I can squeeze out. Come on. Smile, guys! God knows I'm gonna be smiling after dinner with those ribs."

I looked at Sam and shrugged. "Well, I could eat," I said and he chuckled.

"You're so weak," he said to me.

I looked at Dean who was giving me his interpretation of Sam's puppy dog eyes and I smiled.

"Yeah, but just look at him," I said patting Dean on the head, who smiled at me. "He's just so cute!" Dean chuckled and took another sip of his milkshake.

My phone started ringing again and I answered it.

"Hello?" I already knew who it was, but I had to play it cool.

"Jefferson! Long time no hear... I was just thinking about you... yeah, no... I wasn't thinking about you naked, what?" I listened to some more banter from the man and shook my head. "No I did not check you out in Philadelphia, Dude, you were dreaming." I rolled my eyes and Dean shook his head with a grin. "No I didn't check you out in Hollywood either!"

I got up and walked away from the table while the boys paid and headed out toward the Impala. I walked toward the restrooms, pretending I needed to go. Once I was out of hearing range of Dean, things turned serious.

"OK. So what do you think?" I asked.

"_Yeah, Beth, I'm sorry darlin' but I don't think it'll work,"_ Jefferson said.

"What do you mean it won't work? It's a demon-dispelling ritual!" I said urgently into the phone, hushing my tone a little as a couple of women walked past, looking at me curiously.

"_It doesn't make any sense Beth, at any rate, it doesn't read like a ritual," _he said to me.

"Well, maybe we got the translation wrong," I said, starting to walk outside. "Look, Jefferson, I can't just let Dean fry in Hell while..." I paused, swallowing back a lump in my throat. "Jefferson, there's got to be something, this is all my fault!" I looked over at Dean, standing next to Sam at the Impala.

"_Look, Beth, where are you? Maybe I should come up for a few days."_ Jefferson said. _"We can go over it in person." _

"Yeah I don't know... Dean doesn't want me doing anything on this, he's not willing to take the risk that the original deal with be reverted to." I said to him.

"_Just the same..."_ He said and I sighed. It would be good to see him again, he was one of the few people I knew who didn't walk on eggshells around me lately.

"We're headed for Cicero, you remember the place?" I said.

"_Oh I remember..."_ he said with a chuckle. "_Do me a favour? When you run into yoga girl, and you know you will... try not to kill her?"_ I laughed.

"We're so not going to be running into yoga girl," I said to him. "That was seven years ago!"

"_Uh huh, I'll see you in a few days, all right?"_ Jefferson didn't wait for an answer before hanging up.

I wandered over toward the boys who were now deep in conversation. "She was a yoga teacher. It was the bendiest night of my life..." Dean was saying to Sam. I paused, listening in.

"Dude, don't let Beth hear you saying that, what are you nuts?!" Sam said, shaking his head.

"What? Oh come on, no one compares to Beth! But I'm telling you man, that girl was Gumby girl..." I raised my eyebrow, rolling my eyes. "Gumby girl," Dean said, thinking hard. He suddenly frowned and looked up at Sam. "Does that make me Pokey?"

"Yep," I said, interrupting them, and making it more than clear that I'd overheard them.

Dean looked a little chagrined and came around to wrap his arms around me. "Hey..." he said, looking at me with a twinkle in his eyes. "Wanna be my gumby girl?" He asked, and I laughed.

"I don't think I'm flexible enough to be gumby girl..." I said to him with narrowed eyes. He looked thoughtful and then his mouth twitched into a teasing grin.

"Oh I don't know, you're pretty good at Twister..." he said with a grin.

"You guys don't play Twister!" Sam said, cutting in.

"Not when you're around," Dean replied and Sam's eyes widened.

"Oh my god Dean! Seriously, are you guys _trying _to scar me for life?" He asked.

"Hey we didn't say we played it naked, get your mind out of the gutter!" I said to him, chuckling.

"Well, why haven't I seen you playing it then?" Sam asked.

"Because we're _playing it naked, duh!" _Dean said, rolling his eyes.

"God!" Sam exclaimed.

"We didn't say we weren't playing it naked either," I commented with a grin, smiling as Dean leaned down to kiss me. Sam threw his hands in the air and walked away.

"I'm seriously going to need therapy thanks to you two," he muttered.

* * *

_**Cicero, Indiana  
4 hours later**_

Dean and I were walking along the street after dropping Sam at the motel, we were just looking for a little time out and space, we'd been doing it a lot lately, just going for walks, looking in shops, pretending to be antiquers, it helped normalise our life a little. Today I was on the hunt for some new boots.

"I don't understand what is wrong with your current boots," Dean said, looking at the old worn pair I had on, they were my calf-length boots, and currently they were all I was wearing along with a short green dress..

"They're like three years old Dean, and the sole is almost worn through. Besides, I want a new pair! I shouldn't think that's too much to ask," I said with a grin.

"I'm just saying, shoe shopping? You know I'm much more inclined to acquiesce to your request... if say, Victoria's Secret were involved," he said with a grin. I raised my eyebrow at him.

"Why Captain Barbossa, ye be twistin' me arm," I said in a pirate accent, sidling up to him and slipping my arms around his waist. "Want to go find out what Victoria's secret is then?" I asked, and he chuckled, his hands brushing along my sides, thumbs running over my breasts that were on display under the tight fitting green dress.

"I think I already found that secret," he said huskily, leaning in to kiss me as his hand came up, sliding into my hair and holding my head at an angle as he kissed me deeply. I moaned softly and leaned in to the soft massaging lips against mine.

"Excuse me, sorry," a harried voice said, as the door to the shoe store opened up behind us. Dean moved us out of the way, briefly breaking the kiss to pull me against the wall of the shop.

"Sorry," he muttered, and then claimed my lips again with a grin, one of his hands trailing up my bare thigh to slip under the dress in a fairly showy display of affection..

"Dean?" The woman said, stopping in her tracks to stare at us. Dean pulled away, a confused look on his face as we both turned to look at the person who somehow knew us.

"Huh?" He said, and then he swallowed, I felt his hands tighten on my hips, and he glanced down at me, then back at the woman. I recognised her immediately, Jefferson had been right, _god damn small towns._

"Lisa, hey..." Dean said with a smile, looking at me nervously. He pulled back slightly, but kept one around my waist.

"Dean Winchester... wow... how long has it been?" Lisa asked.

"Uh, seven? Going on eight years now?" He said, looking at me questioningly. I raised my eyebrow at him,_ I wasn't supposed to know this, was I?_

"Crazy huh?" Dean smiled at her and I pinched him lightly where I had my arm around his waist. He frowned slightly at me.

"Yeah," she said smiling. "So, what are you doing here?" Lisa asked, looking at us both.

"Oh, just passing through on a road trip, couldn't resist the chance to go visit the Brewery," Dean said. "You remember, great ribs..." he said with a dashing smile at Lisa. I looked at him sideways, _since when did he go sharing ribs with her? _

My phone started ringing again and I pulled away, taking the call, feeling a little conflicted.

"Yeah?" I said, glancing back at Dean and Lisa who were smiling at each other.

"_So, about yoga girl," _Jefferson jumped straight into the call with.

"What are you following me?" I asked, looking around. I half expected to see the blonde Englishman standing across the road with his cheeky grin.

"_What? No! I haven't even left Miami, why?" _Jefferson said, confused.

"Well you know, speak of the Devil and all that nonsense," I said to him, Dean was laughing at something Lisa had said and I frowned a little.

"_What? She's there? You actually ran into her?!" _Jefferson asked.

"Ran into her? She practically fell in our laps!" I muttered to him and I could hear him chortling on the other end of the phone.

"Jefferson, Jefferson! She's freaking gorgeous! Like, way more prettier than me," I said urgently. I shifted a little uncomfortably, looking at the stunning woman who was beaming at Dean. I sighed.

"_You got a name for that green eyed dragon?" _Jefferson asked and I felt myself glaring at him.

"I'm glaring at you down the phone, can you feel that?" I asked.

"_Hahaha, yeah princess, I get it. Hey your eyes are much better brown darlin' so don't go clawing up poor gumby girl okay?" _

"Gumby Girl? Hey, where did you hear that term?" I asked sharply, suddenly suspicious.

"_Uhhh, nowhere, why?" _Jefferson said evasively.

"Did Dean tell you about this girl after that night?" I asked, starting to put it together.

"_Uhhh, I don't know what you're talking about Beth, listen, I gotta go. Don't get carried away all right? Remember, you're the one he's with now, I gotta go!" _

"Wait, Jefferson, don't you... wait!" I said fiercely into the phone, but he was gone, hanging up on me. _Damn that man!_

I frowned down at my phone and then bit my lip. Dean was looking back at me, a curious expression on his face. I plastered a smile to my face and went back to join them.

"So uh, Lisa, this is Beth... Beth, Lisa." Dean said, and I smiled at the girl. _Don't kill gumby girl _I could hear Jefferson's voice echoing over and over in my head.

"We've just been invited to a party," Dean said, looking down at me and I cocked an eyebrow.

"A party?" I said, turning to look at Lisa. "Well, we love parties," I said with a smile.

* * *

_**Lisa's House  
**__**Cicero, Indiana**__**  
**_

We pulled up to the address Lisa had given us and I looked out the window. Balloons were hanging from the mailbox, decorations from the front porch. I could see parents taking their kids around the back and I looked over at Dean.

"I'm not sure this is the kind of party you were thinking of," I said to him.

"What are you talking about? A party is a party!" He said, grinning and getting out of the car. I followed at a more leisurely pace, and he stopped to look back at me.

"Come on! What's going on with you?" He paused, assessing my slow strides and then grinned. "You're not jealous are you?" He asked.

"Who me?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "Now why would I be jealous Dean? I mean seriously, you saw this girl like once, and she has _a nickname, _which I might add _Jefferson _knows too, so no, nothing to be jealous of here, not at all." I stopped, frowning. _What the Hell Beth? _I thought, I shook my head trying to clear it.

"Wow, ok," Dean said, hesitating. He walked back over to me and slipped his hands around my waist, leaning down to rest his forehead against mine. "We don't have to go you know," he said.

"Why are we going Dean?" I asked, tired. I looked up at him and all I saw was amused adoration, it helped to quell the green-eyed dragon a little bit.

"Well, actually because that guy with the power saw was killed near here, I figured... party, good place to check things out. It's just until the Brewery opens up," he said with a grin. I chuckled, that was Dean, always thinking with his stomach – well, mostly.

"Okay," I said softly.

"You know you're the only one for me, right?" He asked, his eyes open and honest, looking at me with all the feeling he held in his heart. I chewed on my lip and swallowed for a moment, fighting back the terror that was constantly trying to take hold of me. How was I going to ever, _ever, _say good bye to him? We had to find a way to get him out of this deal.

"I know," I said softly, nodding. "I love you," I added, and he smiled and kissed me.

"Ditto," he said with a cheeky grin, taking my hand and pulling me toward the house. "Come on, maybe there's pie!"

Lisa let us into the house with another big smile, and led us out to the backyard where all manner of entertainment was happening. Kids were running around everywhere, I was suddenly hit with another loss as I thought about the birthday parties we wouldn't be having in a year's time.

"So, uh, who's the party for?" Dean asked Lisa.

"Ben, my son." She replied and Dean looked surprised.

"Oh. You have a..."

"Yep." She cut in with a nod. She gestured toward a young boy in the middle of the yard wearing a black jacket and jeans. He was in the middle of opening presents.

"That's him," she said proudly with a smile, glancing at Dean.

Ben ripped off the paper of the present he was holding and it was a CD. He looked elated, holding it in the air. "Yes! AC/DC rules!" He shouted. I frowned. _Odd taste for a kid his age._

Dean looked pleased with the kid's taste in music, nodding away.

"How old?" He asked.

"Seven," Lisa answered shortly, then she waved at someone who had entered the backyard. I wandered off to pick at a table of snacks.

"Oh, Dean, could you excuse me a minute?" Lisa said.

"Yeah, sure. Don't mind me," Dean said, looking a little thoughtful before shrugging and heading off to check out the cake table.

"Did you hear Lisa call him 'Dean'?" A woman near me said to the lady sitting next her.

"Yeah. Why?" The other woman asked, curious. I loitered, wanting to hear this myself.

"You don't know about Dean? _The Dean. _Best-night-of-my-life Dean," she said, I smirked and looked over at the very man they were talking about, taking in an appreciative look at his ass in his worn jeans.

"No. Tell me," the other woman said as they both eyed off Dean.

"Oh, my god, so they had this crazy, semi-illegal..." she cut off talking as Dean turned around, spotting me standing next to them, staring and trying not to chuckle. He smiled and walked over to me holding a couple of plates of cake. Taking a fork, he cut some off and held it out for me as he reached me. I could feel the stares of the women beside me burning a hole they were so acutely aware of us.

"Try this," Dean said, forking some cake into my mouth. It melted in my mouth with a burst of sugary goodness and I smiled, nodding appreciatively. "Yeah? Good?" Dean asked, looking pleased with himself.

He noticed that the women were staring at us and he looked a little uncomfortable.

"Hi," he said, half smiling.

"Hi," said one woman flirtatiously. The other looked at Dean like was dinner.

"Hello..." she said, taking a bite out of a celery stick.

Dean shifted a little uncomfortably, and then looked at me, shrugging. He grabbed my hand and started to pull me away toward another section of the yard.

"Oh... lucky girl," the original woman muttered as she thought we moved out of earshot.

We approached Ben, who was leaning against a wall that separated the back yard from the outdoor entertaining area. Ben looked me over as we approached, and I paused under the birthday boy's attention.

"What's up?" He said to us, nodding in our direction.

"What's up with you?" Dean asked, leaning casually against the fence with him.

A woman and her daughter walked past and I shook my head as they both turned their heads to watch the pair, shoving a spoonful of cake in their mouths as they did so. They were like Dean and his little mini-me. I froze for a moment, just staring at them. My head started spinning with the math: Ben turning seven, and then my own countdown, the one not related to Dean going to Hell popped into my head, unbidden.

I would have been giving birth in a few weeks time if we hadn't lost the baby. Suddenly the whole party seemed to close around me and I shook my head, mouth dry and uncomfortable.

"So, it's your birthday," Dean said to him.

"Guilty," Ben replied, nodding.

"It's a cool party," Dean said as I started to walk past them. Ben watched me go with a curious look.

"Dude, it's so freakin' sweet. And this moon bounce – it's epic!" Ben said, I raised a curious look to Dean who looked a little shocked at the comment.

"Yeah. It's … pretty awesome," he said, while they both turned their gazes toward the moon bounce in the backyard.

"I'll be back," I said softly to Dean as I passed him, and then I ran down the steps toward the house, not waiting for a reply.

I passed a few other mothers and went in search of the bathroom, feeling a bit sick to my stomach, unhappy and miserable, just wanting to go home. As I passed through the kitchen toward the bathroom I heard Lisa talking to a friend.

"It's just... I'm worried about Katie. I think there might be something... wrong with her." The woman was saying.

"Of course there is. The poor girl just lost her dad. She's devastated," Lisa replied.

"No. That's – that's not what I'm talking about. There is something really... wrong with her. I'm not sure that Katie is...Katie." She said, looking at Lisa with a slightly panicked expression. I frowned, stepping into the hallway and staying within earshot.

"What?" Lisa asked, confused.

"I'm not sure that's my daughter," the other woman said, looking out the glass sliding doors to where a young girl was staying placidly among the other guests.

Lisa looked at the woman and frowned. "I know you're grieving, but you can't talk like that. Katie needs you."

"But you don't understand..." the other woman said.

"Seriously. We're gonna get you help. It'll be okay," Lisa said determinedly, and I sighed as the woman started to look distressed as being dismissed so easily. She took a step back, looking angry and went to get her daughter.

"Katie, come on, we're leaving!" The woman said.

* * *

_**Dean's POV**_

Beth ran off down the stairs toward the house and I watched her go, feeling like I'd just completely missed something and it was important. I frowned, then turned back to the kid who was still talking.

"You know who else thinks they're awesome?" Ben asked me. I shook my head at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Chicks!" Ben said, nodding with a pleased expression. "It's like hot-chick city out there."

Ben followed another little girl into the moon bounce, and I watched them, there was just something not right about this kid.

"Look out ladies... here comes trouble! Yee haw!" Ben said as he crawled on to the moon bounce with the other kids.

I took in the whole persona of the little guy, the music tastes, the sweet taste in clothing, and his obvious good taste in the opposite sex, and things started to chime inside my head. _Seven years old _… seven years old. The math hit home and I felt myself go a little pale, glancing over at the kid again. _Nah, it couldn't be. Could it?_

I turned, almost tripping over a bin in my haste to get back inside, looking for Lisa.

She was inside in the kitchen looking out at her guests.

"Hey," I said to her, leaning against the breakfast bar. "So, I, uh... met Ben. Cool kid."

"Yeah," Lisa said with a nod, we both turned to look at Ben who was chatting up some young girl in the backyard.

"Yeah," I said, feeling uncomfortable, not sure how you really broached this subject with anyone. "You know, I couldn't help but notice that, uh, he's turning seven." She nodded at me, I gave her a pointed look. "You and me... you know."

Lisa smiled and chuckled, looking a me, turning to fiddle with some glasses in the sink.

"You're... not trying to ask me if he's yours?" She asked.

"No." I said, "No, of course not," I said awkwardly, smiling. She laughed and bent down to get something out of the cupboard under the sink. "He's not, is he?"

Lisa slammed the cupboard closed, standing up quickly. "What?" I raised my eyebrow at her, _she knew what I was saying. _"No." She said with a shrug.

"Right," I said, looking back out at the people in the yard.

Beth came up to me at that point looking a little pale and upset. I slipped my arm around her waist, pulling her into me and kissing her forehead.

"You ok?" I asked her and she shook her head.

"No, not really, I'd like to go," she said quietly so only I could hear. I looked at her, something had definitely upset her. She turned to watch as a woman and her daughter crossed through the kitchen on their way out.

"Come on Katie," the woman said, pulling her daughter behind her and throwing Lisa an agitated look.

"Something wrong with your friend?" Beth asked Lisa, looking at her pointedly.

Lisa watched the woman leave, nodding. "She's been through a lot. Her ex just died in this horrible accident."

"Oh yeah," I said, nodding. "Didn't I just read about that? The, uh, the power saw."

"Yeah," Lisa said, nodding. "Guess there's been a lot of bad luck in the neighbourhood lately."

"What kind of bad luck?" Beth asked, her arm tightening around my waist.

* * *

_**Motel Diner**_

**Sam's POV**

Dean and Beth were off on their regular little shopping trips, or whatever it was they did these days as a way of coping with the things that were coming our way. I didn't mind because it meant I had more time to do research on Dean's demon deal.

I was jotting down notes from my laptop when someone sat down opposite me in the booth. I glanced up and froze. It was the girl who had helped save me from those demons in Nebraska. I stared at her.

"Hello, Sam," she said with a quirky smile. She had long blonde hair that cascaded down over her shoulders, and pale green eyes.

"You've been following me since Lincoln," I said to her, she reached over and closed my laptop, staring at me.

"Not much gets by you, huh?" She asked, taking one of my fries and munching on it. "Mmm, these are amazing. It's like deep-fried crack. Try some."

I huffed, shaking my head. "That knife you had. You can kill demons with that thing?" I asked her.

"Sure comes in handy when I have to swoop in and save the damsel in distress," she said with a smirk.

"Where did you get it?" I asked.

"Skymall," she answered, grabbing a plate and squeezing some ketchup on to it.

"Why are you following me?" I asked more sternly, leaning my arms against the table.

"I'm interested in you," the girl said with a smile. She had completely covered the small saucer with ketchup, and was stealing more of my fries to dip into it, essentially eating my now-forgotten lunch.

"Why?" I asked, curious.

"Because you're tall. I love a tall man." She said with a grin, chewing on a fry. She looked down at the sauce, a sly look coming across her face. "And then there's the whole Anti-Christ thing."

"Excuse me?" I asked, surprised.

"You know, generation of psychic kids, Yellow-Eyed Demon rounds you up, celebrity death match ensues. You're the sole survivor." She said, taking my drink and sipping on the straw.

"How do you know about that?" I asked, suspicious.

"I'm a good hunter." She said, the smile dropping from her face. She put the drink down on the table, sitting back in the booth, crossing her arms over her chest. "So, Yellow Eyes had some pretty big plans for you, Sam."

"'Had' being the key word," I pointed out. Who was this woman and what exactly was she getting at? Where had she come from? How did she know all this about me?

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's right. Ding-dong the demon's dead. Good job with that. It doesn't change the fact that you're special... in that Anthony Michael Hall E.S.P visions kind of way..."

"No." I said firmly. "That stuff's not happening anymore. Not since Yellow-Eyes died."

"Well, I'm thinking you're still a pretty big deal. I mean, after all that business with your mom." She said. I paused, looking at her.

"What about my mom?" I asked, keeping my face expressionless.

"You know, what happened to her friends." She paused and then smirked. "You... don't know." She said with an amused expression. "You've got a little catching up to do, my friend. SO, why don't you look into your mom's pals..." She grabbed my hand and wrote a cell phone number on it. "...and then give me a call, and we'll talk again? You might like to start with Grace O'Malley, hmmm?" I stared at her, _what did Beth's mother have to do with this?_

The girl got up to leave, turning back to me. "And, by the way, you do know where's a job in this town, right?" My phone started to ring, I glanced down at it, and when I looked up again, she was gone.

I frowned, answering the phone. "Hello?"

"_Dude, there is a job here," _Dean said to me over the phone.

"Really?" I asked, not surprised given what I'd just been told, but still a little shocked nonetheless.

"_Yeah. You know that one freak accident we read about in the paper? Turns out there's four more than never even made the paper, all in this Morning Hill gated community. People falling off of ladders and drowning in their jacuzzis all over the neighbourhood." _Dean said.

"That is weird," I commented, frowning at the thought.

"_Yeah, something's up. Something these nice, big gates can't protect them from." _Dean said, he paused and I could tell there was something else on his mind because normally he'd just hang up on me when he was done.

"Something else Dean?" I asked.

"_Yeah, maybe, I mean, I don't know. Something upset Beth at this damn party we were just at, but she's not talking. Think you can find out what's going on?" _He asked. I frowned, now that was weird. Since when did he enlist my help with Beth?

"Yeah, sure," I said to him, frowning again.

* * *

_**Suburban House**_  
_**Next Morning**_

**Beth's POV**

Dean dropped us off at the end of the street in front of one of the victim's houses. Sam got out and I paused, looking at Dean.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" I asked, frowning at Dean.

"What? No! Of course not. You just, well you seem like you need a bit of a distraction, maybe hanging out with Sam will give you a change of pace," he said, looking at me worried. "Unless you want to tell me what's bothering you."

I shook my head, I wasn't really ready to talk about it yet. Not to him anyway. I didn't want to worry or burden him further. Dean reached over and pulled me closer to him, kissing my forehead and then looking me in the eyes. "I'm here when you want to talk." He said, and I smiled at him, nodding.

"I know," I said. I reached up to gently stroke his face and then got out to go join Sam, waving as he headed off to do some canvassing of the neighbourhood for other unusual activity. He was smiling happily, still on a rib-fest high from last night's Brewery visit.

Sam and I visited several homes of victims in the street, posing as insurance agents to get the more messier details. We were finally reaching the last house and coming out to look at where the accident had occurred.

"So, once again, we're very sorry to disturb you. We just really want to expedite that life-insurance policy," Sam said to the woman.

"Of course," she said with a nod. She led us around the back of the house to where a ladder was leaning against the wall.

"This is, um, where he fell," she said.

"I see. Now, how exactly did he ..." Sam trailed off, gesturing to the ladder.

"He was just inside changing a light bulb. Must have lost his balance," she replied, shrugging and looking up at the window.

"Were you here when this happened?" I asked, looking at the second-story window.

"No, I was out. Uh, the only one here was our daughter, Dakota." She answered.

She indicated a ground floor window where a young girl was staring at us in a creepy manner, no smile, no wave, nothing like a regular kid might offer when smiled at. I shuddered, something seemed off about the kid. I noticed there was a dark red smudge on the window sill and the railing next to it. _Was that blood?_

Exchanging a glance with Sam, he nodded slightly to the red stain, he'd seen it too.

"Okay," I said, turning to the woman with a smile. "I think that's all we need."

"Okay," she said with a nod.

"We'll get out of your way now," Sam said, turning to leave.

"Thank you," she said wearily, leading us back toward the door we had exited.

As we walked up the stairs, she put a hand to the back of her neck, rubbing it. Sam tensed and glanced back at me, his gaze going to the bruise that was standing out deep and purple. It was a strange looking mark, round, surrounded by small dots. I frowned, _where had I seen that before?_

We walked back toward where we were meeting Dean at the end of the street, Sam deep in thought. He glanced at me a few times and then he opened his mouth as if to ask me a question, closing it again when no words came.

"Spit it out Sammy," I said with a grin, noticing the tense posture he was holding. He sighed and took my arm, leading me across the road into a park where he sat us on a park bench.

"That bad?" I asked, gesturing that we needed to be sitting down for whatever he was about to say.

"You seem... tense," Sam said to me, frowning. "What's going on?"

"Sam..." I said, tired, rubbing a hand across my face.

"No, look, come on Beth you have to talk to someone. You won't talk to Dean, so come on, hit me with it." Sam said, turning his puppy dog eyes toward me.

I sighed. "He told you that?" Sam nodded in reply. I sighed again, looking out across the park.

"This was supposed to be a routine food run," I said with a wry grin. "Fun, you know?" He nodded at me.

I blew out another breath, leaning back against the bench, feeling everything coming to the surface like a saucepan about to boil over.

"Instead I'm in the middle of some weird case. Plus there's Lisa who is, I don't know, picture perfect mom back there throwing this awesome party for her son, and I saw the way Dean looked at her." I paused, staring at my hands. "She claims that kid isn't his, but I don't know Sam, the timing is right, and this kid... he's like a mini-Dean, you should see him."

Sam looked sympathetically at me.

"You would have had a son of your own in three weeks," he said softly and I stared at him.

"You remembered?" I asked. He nodded solemnly.

"We both have Beth, we just haven't wanted to bring it up, in case..." he trailed off, but the implication was there. They'd been trying not to upset me. I sighed and felt tears coming into my eyes, for the first time in months it was about my baby.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to feel Sam, everything has changed in the blink of an eye. I'm going to lose him Sam, and part of me is so grateful we're not going to have a baby that I have to raise on my own, but part of me is still so completely devastated over it!" I buried my face in my hands and felt his arm come around my shoulders, pulling me in against him.

"I know, I know. It's my fault Beth. You know, I'm the reason there's no baby, and maybe if you'd had that baby you wouldn't have been so rash and made that deal, and neither would Dean ... I'm sorry Beth." I looked up at him urgently, there were tears in his big worried eyes. I shook my head at him.

"No, no, no, no, no Sam. Don't do that. I don't want you to take that on," I said looking up at him.

"Would you take it all back though? If you could? Would you leave me dead?" He asked.

"Never," I said resolutely. "But we have to figure out how to get Dean out of this deal." I said, tears starting to fall again. "It might be the one thing that breaks me Sam."

He pulled me into his arms and I felt the sobs come, burying my face in his chest.

"It's ok Beth, I'm going to find a way, I promise. We'll find a way." He said soothingly to me, rubbing a hand up and down my back. I didn't believe him, we hadn't found anything yet, and we had no leads. "I'm not going to let my brother go to Hell to save me, I'm not."

* * *

_**Park**_

**Dean's POV**

I'd left Beth with Sam and driven off to check out the area, I hoped Sam was able to get through to her because there was certainly something going on with that girl, I just didn't know what exactly.

The house I'd just left hadn't had any more information to go on than the last three I'd been to. But I'd managed to get a couple of phone numbers to add to the tally for this month. I wondered vaguely if we were still doing our little competition of who could land the most phone numbers in a month and then chuckled. Well I still was, I didn't know what Beth was doing. So far I was in the lead for the last two months!

When I reached the Impala I noticed Ben sitting on a park bench looking sad. I decided to have a chat with the kid.

"Hey, Ben," I said, looking down at the little guy.

"Hey." Ben answered, nodding at me. "You were at my party."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm Dean." I said, taking a seat next to him. "Everything okay? Something wrong?" He was watching a group of boys playing with a Gameboy or something like that. I noticed he was holding an empty case, and glanced over at the boys. "Is that your game they're playing with?" I asked.

"Yeah, Ryan Humphrey borrowed it, and now he wont give it back," Ben said with a sigh.

"Well, you want me to go..." I gestured as if I could go and take it back.

"No! Don't go over there! Only bitches send a grown-up," he said urgently, grabbing my arm. I looked at him proudly, nodding.

"You're not wrong," I said to him, smiling.

"And I'm not a bitch," he said. I chuckled. I leaned over to him, raising my eyebrow at the kids playing with the game.

"Is that Humphrey? The one that needs to lay off the burgers?" I asked. Ben nodded, smiling slightly at my comment.

I couldn't believe I was about to give this kid some tactics on dealing with bullies, I was no dad or anything even close to it, but the kid didn't have a dad around obviously – someone had to teach the kid how to get on in the world.

Five minutes later Ben was walking across the park to the group of boys. They outnumbered him, and were clearly bigger. But they weren't going to be expecting this. Ben cleared his throat and glanced back at me. I gave him a thumbs up and smiled.

"Ryan. I'd like my game back please," Ben said to the chubby kid.

Ryan looked up at him and snarled. "Fine. Take it back!" The other boys laughed and Ben looked at each of them in turn, hesitating. Ben turned to leave, but the chubby kid just couldn't help himself.

"See? Told you guys he was a …." his sentence never got finished because Ben whirled around and kicked the kid hard in the groin. I grimaced, _oh that had to hurt. I knew from experience. _Ben took the game back, returning to me on the bench, grinning happily. I was chuckling away, _that was awesome! _

"Thanks. Dude, that was awesome!" Ben said excitedly. I whistled and shook my head, I couldn't keep the grin from my face. I held my hand up for a high five.

"Up high!" I said as he hit my hand.

Lisa came running up to us suddenly, flashing an angry look at me.

"Benjamin Isaac Braeden! What's gotten into you?" She asked, coming to stand in front of us.

"He stole my game!" Ben said, Lisa looked unimpressed.

"So you kick him? Since when is..." she turned to look at me and I tried to hide the grin on my face. "Did you tell my son to beat up that kid?" She asked sharply.

"What? Well somebody had to teach him how to kick the bully in the nads," I said to her, looking over to see Sam and Beth approaching along the path.

"Who asked you to teach him anything?" Lisa said angrily.

"Just relax," I said, trying to get her to calm down. She grabbed me by the arm and pulled me away from the bench.

"What are you even still doing here? We had like one night together a million years ago. You don't know me. You have no business with my son!" She snapped. I was seriously starting to doubt that, but I couldn't prove it so I simply sighed, looking up at her.

"Lisa." I said, as she grabbed Ben and turned to leave. Beth frowned as she and Sam reached us, watching the exchange with curiosity. Lisa looked her over and then glared back at me.

"Just leave us alone," she said, pulling Ben with her as she walked away. Ben darted away from his mother and ran up to me, wrapping his arms around me in an impulsive hug.

"Ben!" Lisa said sharply to him.

"Thanks," Ben said with a smile, looking up me. My heart melted a little at the little guy looking up at me and I smiled at him, patting him on the head. He was a good kid. I liked him. Ben ran back to Lisa and they turned to leave, Beth came up and slipped her arm around me giving me a loving smile.

"Upsetting the locals again?" She asked with a grin.

"Yeah, you know me, fun times all round," I said with a smile, kissing her softly on the lips.

"Dude, did you just teach some kid to kick someone in the groin?" Sam asked, frowning at me. Obviously Lisa wasn't the only one who saw the incident go down.

I shrugged and threw them a wry smile. "Well someone had to, kid was getting bullied!" I answered. Beth chuckled and shook her head, Sam rolled his eyes and threw his hands in the air.

"Dude!" He said in a chastising manner.

"What?" I asked, looking at him. "Hey, he'll take that lesson with him for the rest of his life, ain't nobody going to mess with that kid from now on."

Sam shook his head. "Violence isn't the solution to everything, Dean."

"Well it usually works for me," I said with a grin. "You know, when the other thing doesn't..." I smiled, looking down at Beth who laughed. It was good to hear her laugh.

"What other thing?" Sam asked stupidly, he'd walked right into that one.

"You know, getting down and dirty, naked with the ladies, having a little fun," I said with a grin. "Of course, I can't use that technique on anyone but Beth now, so violence is kind of my only go-to option." She laughed again and kissed me on the neck, pulling me close. She seemed a little better, whatever Sammy had said to her, seemed to have worked.

I looked up and noticed there were three kids watching us, all standing together, staring at us in a very creepy fashion. It sent a shiver down my spine, kids could be so strange.

"What is it?" Beth asked.

"Nothing, I don't know yet, but something's not right with this neighbourhood," I said thoughtfully.

Beth was looking at the kids, who started to turn and walk away.

"Something's wrong with the kids in this town," she commented, and I nodded.

"Yeah, tell me about it." I said.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
**__**Later that night**__**  
**_

**Beth's POV**

Sam was at the laptop looking at a few articles while Dean and I were dishing up the Chinese take-out. Dean grimaced at the Mongolian beef I'd gotten him and I smirked.

"You don't want beef?" I asked, and he looked at me.

"We should have just gone back to the Brewery..." he said wistfully. He had a hungry look in his eye like he would take a chunk out of an uncooked cow if it meant he got to have that melt-in-your-mouth succulent taste again.

"We can't eat there every night!" I said with a laugh, Dean just shook his head, I knew when he got a taste for something he could completely binge on it. Sometimes that was a good thing, like when I wanted cuddle time and he was all hands-on touchy-feely binging. However, sometimes it was a bad thing, like the time he had the craving for the deep fried onion appetiser at _Outback Steakhouse_. I grimaced just thinking about it.

"I could," he said, looking like he was fantasising about those ribs again.

Sam cleared his throat. "So what do you know about changelings?" He asked.

I looked up sharply at the comment, _is that where I'd seen that mark before? _I couldn't quite remember.

"Evil monster babies?" Dean asked, looking over his shoulder at Sam.

"No, not necessarily babies," I said, looking at him.

"The kids!" Dean said with a flourish of his chopsticks. "Creepy, 'stare at you like you're lunch' kids...?" he muttered under his breath.

"Yeah," Sam said with a nod. "There's one at every victim's house."

Shortly later our food was forgotten and Dean was sitting at the counter putting together a kerosene torch. I grimaced, I hated when we had to burn creatures, the stench alone was enough to give you nightmares.

"So, changelings can perfectly mimic children," Sam said from where he was seated on the bed. "According to lore, they climb in the window, snatch the kid."

I nodded, looking at him. "There were marks on the windowsill at one of the kids houses. It looked like blood."

"The changeling grabs a kid, assumes its form, joins the happy fam just for kicks?" Dean asked with a frown.

"Not quite," I said, recalling something I'd read in John's journal. "Changelings feed on the mom's synovial fluid. Sam you remember, the moms they all have these odd bruises on the back of their necks." I pointed to my own neck and Sam nodded.

"Changelings can drain them for a few weeks before mom finally croaks," Sam said.

"And then there's dad and the babysitter," Dean said.

"Yeah. Seems like anyone who gets between the changeling and its food source ends up dead." I said, a little disturbed by the thought.

Dean held up his torch, looking pleased with himself. "And fire's the only way to waste them?" Sam nodded at him. "Great. We'll just bust in, drag the kids out, torch them on the front lawn. That will play great with the neighbours." I grimaced at the image.

"What about the real ones? What happens to them?" I asked, curious.

"They stash them underground somewhere. I don't know why, but if it's true, the real kids might be out there," Sam replied.

"We better start looking," Dean said, standing up. "So, any kid in the neighbourhood is vulnerable?"

"Yep," Sam answered.

Dean and I exchanged a look, and I knew what he was thinking.

"We gotta go check on Ben," Dean said to me, I nodded, in complete agreement.

"Well Dean, if the real kids are still alive, we don't have time." Sam said, frowning.

"No, we have to Sam," I said, looking at Dean's face. He was panicked all of a sudden.

* * *

_**Lisa's House**_

**Dean's POV**

Ten minutes later we were standing out the front of Lisa's house. I felt slightly weird about it, she hadn't exactly been pleased with us the last time we'd seen her. Just the same, I rang the doorbell and shifted from foot to foot while waiting for her to answer.

Lisa came to the door, looking a little confused to see me there. "Dean?"

"Hey!" I said with a smile. "I was thinking... Ben's birthday. I didn't bring him a present."

"That's okay," she said, frowning at me.

"No. No, no, I feel terrible, so, uh..." I pulled my credit card out of my wallet and handed it to her. "Here. Take a long weekend – just the two of you – on me."

"What?" Lisa asked, taking the card and looking at it confused.

"Yeah, I hear Six Flags is great this time of year. Go now. Avoid the traffic," I said, smiling at her.

Lisa read the name on the card and I mentally grimaced. "'Siegfried Houdini'? Whose card is this?" She asked.

"Mine," I said to her. "Nevermind. It'll work. I promise." I said.

She looked at me uncomfortably and handed the card back. "You should leave."

"Lisa..." I was interrupted by Ben coming down the stairs.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" He asked, looking at her sleepily.

"Nothing, Ben. It's cool." I said to him with a smile.

Ben stared at me a little too long for comfort, and I felt a sick feeling come into my stomach.  
"Make him go away, mommy," Ben said to Lisa. She looked at him then turned a raised eyebrow to me.

"You heard him. Get out," Lisa said.

"Lisa... I don't think that's a good idea," I said, reaching for the door.

"Get out!" Lisa said again, slamming the door in my face. I walked around and peered through the window at them. Lisa returned to the couch where she was reading a book, Ben was sitting at a table with his own book, staring at Lisa as she read. I got out my flash-light and took a look around at the bedroom windows, there was a red smear mark on one of the sills. I swallowed, it could only mean one thing.

Beth was getting out of the car to come look for me when I jogged back toward the Impala.

"Hey," I said, kissing her quickly and then getting into the driver's seat, she returned to the back.

"They took Ben, he's changed," I said, looking over my shoulder at Beth.

"What? Are you sure?" She asked, looking at me worried.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I checked his windowsill." I said.

"Blood?" Sam asked.

"I don't think it is blood, and I think I know where the kids are," I commented, looking over at him. At least we had a lead.

* * *

_**House Under Construction  
**__**Same Neighbourhood**__**  
**_

**Beth's POV**

Dean pulled the Impala up in front of the semi-constructed house, a large mound of red dirt sat outside the house. We got out and inspected it.

"Red dirt..." Sam commented, running a handful of it through his fingers.

"That's what was on the window," Dean said with a nod. "You take the front," he said to Sam, tossing him a bag from the back seat. "We'll go around."

Dean and I crept around to the back of the house, it was still in the framing process, no doors and only a couple of windows, so getting in was as simple as pushing through the heavy plastic covering the entry. Dean took the lead with his flash-light and I followed.

We passed the stairs leading down to the basement and heard a noise. Dean looked at me and I raised an eyebrow, nodding. He handed me the bag on his shoulder, and started to walk down the stairs, taking them slowly. I pulled out my flash-light from the bag and shone it around, splitting up from Dean as we reached the bottom.

It was eerily quiet, with the occasional bump or creak, and it reminded me of the moment in any horror show where the nice girl is about to get ganked by whatever homicidal lunatic is running around.

"Beth!" I heard Dean call out to me, and I moved toward the sound of his voice. Rounding the corner I saw a row of cages holding the missing children captive. Dean was standing in front of Ben's cage, reaching for the boy through the wire mesh.

"Ben... Ben... it's okay. I'm gonna get you out of here," Dean promised, looking up at me. He took a step back and used his flash-light to smash down on the lock, breaking it open. The door swung out and Ben crawled out. I smashed open another cage, letting several of the missing girls out. Ben took them in hand, reassuring them.

"It's okay. You're gonna get out of here, all right?" Ben said and I smiled at the brave kid, I caught Dean looking at him, a proud expression on his face.

One more cage and we had everyone free, herding them toward a window. Dean paused, assessing it then looked back at us all.

"Come on girls, come on. Everybody back, cover your eyes," I said, ushering them away from the window. Dean waited until the area was clear then used his light to break the glass.

There was another cage behind us and I looked around to see a woman locked in it just as Sam came running in.

"Dean! Beth! There's a mother," Sam said, looking behind him.

"A mother changeling?" Dean asked, surprised as he boosted the first kid up and out the window.

"Yeah. We got to get these kids out quick," Sam said.

"There's one more, give me a hand Sam," I said. I smashed at the lock on the cage behind me while Dean kept getting children out the window.

"I guess that's why the changelings are keeping the kids alive – so the mom can snack on them," Sam said as he held the cage door open. I recognised the woman from the birthday party, she'd been the one talking about Lisa's _best-night-of-my-life Dean. _Sam put his arm around her waist and helped her to the window.

One of the girls screamed and I looked up to see the mother changeling right behind us. I swung my flash-light at her, but she blocked me, grabbing my arm and swinging me with a strong force through an incomplete wall. I landed with a painful blow to my shoulder.

"Beth!" Sam shouted, brandishing the kerosene torch and attempting to light it. The mother kicked the lighter clean out of his hand, and punched him a couple of times with a strength that belied the frail body she was mimicking. With a few kicks to the stomach, she tossed him across the room into a wall like he was nothing more than a bag of marshmallows.

I struggled to my feet as Dean attacked the mother from behind, she turned on him, punching him several times in the stomach, smashing him in the face with her knee. He hit a wall with a resounding crunch.

"Beth! Get them out of here!" Dean yelled, and I ran for the kids. Ben was already helping them to climb out the window, reassuring them, just like Dean would.

I turned to see Dean pick up a brick and hit the mother across the face with it, she smashed into a wall behind her. She got back up, and wrestled with Dean, it looked like he was losing the fight and I hesitated, torn between helping and getting the kids out. Dean lashed out with a kick to the mother's stomach and she flew across the room. We only had one kid to go, and it was Ben, I boosted him up and smiled.

"Go, go! Get them away from here!" I said urgently before turning back toward the fight. Dean was bearing down on the mother, a look of anger on his face. He stopped when he saw Sam step up from beside him, torch in hand. He'd found the lighter and flipped it, sending a whoosh of flames toward the mother changeling who screamed and burned up in a roaring blaze.

* * *

_**Lisa's House**_

**Beth's POV**

The danger was gone. Ben was chattering away in the back seat with me as we drove him home. Lisa came running out the front door when she saw us pull up. Ben jumped out of the car, running into her arms.

"Ben?! Ben! Baby, are you okay?" Lisa asked urgently, looking him over.

"I'm okay, Mom." Ben reassured her, smiling and happy to be home.

"Oh, my god. What the hell just happened?" Lisa asked, looking up at the three of us standing nearby.

"I'll explain everything if you want me to, but, trust me, you probably don't. The important thing is that Ben's safe." Dean said stepping up and ruffling the kid's hair.

Lisa looked at Dean, tears in her eyes. "Thank you," she said before grabbing him in a hug. "Thank you."

Sam and I looked at each other and shrugged, turning to leave. "Maybe we'll just give you guys some... time." Sam suggested, raising his eyebrow.

Dean turned around and frowned at me. "Where are you going?" He asked me and I shrugged, feeling a little awkward.

"Come on," he said to both of us. Sam shook his head and walked back to the Impala, settling in the front seat with his iPod and a smile. I wasn't getting a choice, Dean grabbed my hand and nodded to Lisa, who led the way into the house.

Half an hour later Lisa and I were talking in the kitchen while Dean and Ben were in the living room discussing music.

"Changelings?" She asked me, looking over at Ben.

"You know, we never uh, mentioned what we do. This is kind of our job." I said to her.

"I so didn't want to know that," she said with a smirk. She looked over at Ben. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"Yeah, I think he'll be fine," I said to her, smiling. "He's a tough kid."

"Kind of like his dad," Lisa said softly, watching Dean and Ben together.

I looked at her, and frowned. "Umm, are you saying..."

"I had a type," Lisa said suddenly, looking at me. "Leather jacket, couple of scars, no mailing address? I was there." I smiled, nodding. "Guess I was a little wild back then, before I became a mom."

"And?" I asked.

"And that night was … well, it was the best night of my life," she said with a smile. "Sorry," she added at my uncomfortable look.

"That's ok," I said softly, shrugging, I could kind of relate – Dean had been five years of the best nights of my life. Dean was looking over at us, a curious expression on his face.

"You don't have to worry, I got the message, the next morning. Loud and clear." She said to me, looking a little sad.

"What message?" I asked, completely confused but this suddenly strange girly deep and meaningful.

"Ask Dean, he'll know what I mean," she said.

"Listen, Lisa..." I said, wishing I was a thousand miles away from this conversation right now. "About Ben..."

"He's Dean's," she said quickly, looking at me with slight terror. I swallowed, biting my lip.

"Yeah, I kind of wondered." I said. We both looked over at the boys then, and Dean started to look very uncomfortable at the attention.

"I don't know how to tell him, can you?" Lisa asked me. "I'm not trying to mess up your lives, I don't expect anything. But I think, since he's showed up after all this time. Maybe he at least deserves to know..." she said to me.

I nodded, silent. "Yeah, yeah I think he'd like to know," I said quietly after a moment's thought.

Dean had gotten up and was crossing the room to us. Lisa was starting to look a little like a startled rabbit, itching to run.

"You know, just for the record... you got a great kid." Dean said as he reached us, waving a hand back at Ben. "I would have been proud to be his dad," he said, pausing as we both looked at him.

"Yeah, about that..." I said, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. Dean stared down at me, reading a lot into my expression. After a moment he looked up at Lisa who was squirming beside us.

"Woah... really? He is mine?" He asked, glancing back at Ben.

"Yeah, he is." Lisa said, smiling tentatively. "Sorry, I was just, I didn't know what you wanted, or would expect. We have a good life here, I didn't want to mess it up."

"What changed your mind?" I asked her, watching Dean's facial expression as we talked. He was looking dumbfounded but pleased at the same time.

"You saved his life, it weren't for either of you, he'd be dead. I can't just walk away from that," Lisa said.

Dean was staring at Ben, and we all stood around looking a little awkward.

"Listen, um... I don't expect anything from you guys. But … you're welcome to come visit, any time you're in the area," she said, looking from Dean to me. "Both of you."

I nodded and Dean looked a little wistful. "Yeah, yeah, well we got a lot of work to do, but, some stuff happened to us recently, and uh, well... I think it would be good to get to know him a little, if you think he'd be up for it," Dean said.

"I think he'd like that," Lisa said.

I didn't know how I felt about the whole thing. My own son was dead, taken before his time, and here Dean had a fully grown kid running around, to gumby girl. I sighed and as if he was a mind reader, my phone started ringing.

"I'm in town, princess," Jefferson said.

"Dude, I swear you have me bugged, what have you joined the psychic network or something?" I asked, walking away from Dean and Lisa.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, chuckling away at my tone.

"I'm with gumby girl... oh and we need to talk, now!" I said urgently to him.

"We are talking, what's the problem?" He asked. I paused, looking over at the other two.

"Okay, maybe not right now, later, meet me at the chapel across from our motel in half an hour," I said, and he agreed, hanging up.

* * *

_**Chapel**_

**Beth's POV**

"So what's the problem?" Jefferson asked as I finished up my prayers to my angels. I looked over at him, standing to give him a big hug.

"I have to figure out a way to break this deal Jefferson, I have to! It's not enough time, it's just not ok?" I said to him, starting to pace.

"Beth, I told you, I have exhausted all my contacts, and nothing. If there is a way to break this deal, nobody is talking." Jefferson said, leaning casually against a pew, watching me with folded arms.

"Dean's a dad." I said to him, changing the subject and coming to a stop.

"What?" He asked.

"Gumby girl, that night... she got pregnant. He has a seven year old son." I said, tears coming to my eyes. "And I'm not sure how I'm supposed to react to that, am I really meant to be happy for him? Sad? Angry? I mean it's not as if he was mine then, not really."

Jefferson pulled me into a hug and sighed. "I don't know princess, I don't know. But I do know one thing," he said, pulling me back to and lowering concerned eyes to me.

"What?" I sniffed.

"You've got to start talking to Dean about this Beth, he's worried about you." I nodded, I knew he was right, I did, I just didn't know where to start.

"It's not fair Jefferson, it's just not. This life, the sacrifices we make almost every day for complete strangers. My own son was ripped from my arms because of this life, Dad is dead, Sam died, Dean's going to Hell, and all for what? So people like Lisa can sleep at night, and then don't even think that maybe, just _maybe, _Dean deserved to know he had a son out there in the world?" I stopped pacing and faced him.

"Would it have made a difference if he did?" Jefferson asked.

"Well, maybe. Maybe he would have gone and joined her – I mean I know, Dad would have killed him, but maybe he wouldn't have either. This is family we're talking about. Maybe he could have got out, had a real family, he'd be safe now." Jefferson raised an eyebrow, and looked over my shoulder, a curious look on his face. I closed my eyes and bit my lip, he could only be looking at one person.

Dean's familiar steps walked down the aisle toward me and I sighed, burying my face in my hand, rubbing my temples. _God this had been an exhausting couple of days. _

"I'm gonna leave you both to it then," Jefferson said with a pat to my shoulder. "I'll be with Sam."

I felt the heat of Dean's body standing in front of me and turned my eyes to look up at him. He was standing there with his every infuriating _gotcha _expression on his face.

"Secret rendezvous with Jefferson, a man could get worried at all these phone calls you've been taking lately, and now this," he said with a grin. I smiled back at him.

"You don't get jealous," I said, running my hands down his chest, resting them against him.

"I'm human, Beth, of course I get jealous," he said with a chuckle, leaning down to kiss me. "But I trust you." He peered into my eyes, watching me as I tried to formulate something, anything to say to him about what he might have just overheard.

"You going to start talking to me? Or should I?" He asked. I shrugged, still unable to form words, so he pulled me into a pew, sitting down with me on his lap.

"Okay... I guess I'll start then," he said with a patient smile. I smiled and nodded back.

"Right, well. For a start, I know you'd like to think I would have run off, abandoned you guys, and lived fairytale life on Sesame Street back there, but you know me better than that. A baby with Lisa wouldn't have been enough to keep me in one place and that's just the way it is." I chewed on my lip, watching him.

"But, she's gorgeous Dean." I pointed out. He snorted.

"And? You want to know why she probably never told me about Ben? Because she was so damn pissed at me by the time I left there in the morning she probably never wanted to see me again." His words reminded me of what Lisa had said, something about asking Dean.

"What happened?" I queried.

He shook his head with a smile. "You know this was after Philadelphia right?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, I kind of, may have followed you that night," I said, biting my lip. He looked surprised and then shook his head.

"God you're a stubborn pain in the ass sometimes," he muttered. I gaped at him, he could talk!

"Why didn't you stop me?" He said, shaking his head. "Don't answer that, I know why. _Dad. _Freaking control freak. We wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for him."

"Dean, we wouldn't know each other if it weren't for him," I said.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, our Dad's grew up together after all." Dean said, and I nodded quietly.

"So what happened?" I asked again, getting back to my original question.

He sighed. "You may have noticed, she's kind of almost the spitting image of you?"

"Except I was blonde at the time," I said with a raised eyebrow. Dean's warm laughter filled the chapel.

"Sugarpie, you looked shocking with blonde hair, I'm not sweating the details here, you're always going to have brown hair to me," he said. He sobered, looking at me. "I should have waited for you, I should have just stuck it out, but every time you pushed me away I thought to myself, 'it's never going to happen, she'll never get past Dad's rules' and I just … well... she looked like you Beth, she laughed like you, I just needed that for a little while, you know?" I nodded, I knew all too well.

"And, unfortunately, I slipped up and during our morning... fun... I called her Beth." I gaped, a goofy grin coming to my face.

"Are you serious?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Deadly," he said, deadpan. I looked down at his chest, shaking my head, suddenly feeling like I'd won a competition.

"I wouldn't have gone to her even if I knew about Ben, you know that. So you need to get over the jealous thing," he said, I nodded quietly. He took a breath, pausing.

"Now... the baby..." he said gently.

I felt the tears coming unbidden to my eyes, and sniffed them back.

"Well... you won't bring it up, you won't talk about him, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do Beth." His eyes were worried for me, and I chewed on my lip, thinking.

"I don't know what I want either Dean, I just know it hurts," I said quietly.

"I know it does, baby," he said, pulling me against him and holding me. He kissed my forehead and sat like that, his lips pressed to my temples for a moment.

"So what's the deal with Jefferson? Why is he here? You two aren't trying to get me out of this deal I hope?" Dean said. I looked at him, he knew me too well.

"He's just here to check up on us, he's worried, thinks I'm having a nervous breakdown or something." I said, _well it was partially true._

"And are you?" He asked.

"Well, not today," I said with a wry smile. "And I'm just taking it one day at a time right now." He nodded, pulling me tighter into his lap.

"I love you," he said softly and I turned happy eyes to look at him. "I know I don't say enough," he added.

I shook my head, smiling as I claimed his mouth with my lips, caressing them tenderly.

"You say it enough, you say it every day to me, just by being you." I said with a smile, leaning my head in to his shoulder, nuzzling up against his neck so I could breathe in his scent, and wrap it all around me. It was moments like this I was trying to commit to memory, because who knew how many more I had left.

With that thought the sobs started to wrench out of me, and I let them come. He didn't speak, he didn't judge, he just held me while I cried, the tears falling to drench his shirt.

When I couldn't cry any more, I dabbed at my eyes once more with the handkerchief I'd pulled from my jacket pocket to stem all the disgusting side-effects of bawling your brains out. Crying isn't like they portray in the movies. You don't start up, stop a moment later and have perfect hair and make-up, not a blemish to the face.

Crying for me meant a red, angry face, swollen eyes, snotty nose and hoarse voice. Crying was exhausting.

Dean shifted finally, moving his legs with me sitting firmly on them. I looked up at him, feeling incredibly self-conscious even though really, he'd seen me at my complete worst and still loved me, so I don't know what I was worried about.

"Come on waterworks," he said with a chuckle. "Let's get you back to the motel and cleaned up." I nodded and stood up, taking a few steps to allow him some room to move. He slipped his arm around my waist and walked with me down the aisle to the exit, holding me tightly against him.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
Next Morning**_

**Sam's POV**

Jefferson's eyes had been a big help, we'd been doing research all night while Dean and Beth got their own room and were off _hopefully _dealing with some of their stuff. I was on the phone yet again.

"Hi. I needed to check some facts with your, uh, with your secretary about a fire that occurred on November 24, 2006 in Lawrence, Kansas. Hardecker was his name." I listened while someone responded to me, watching Jefferson on his own phone call. "Okay. Great. I was just tying to find out the date he died...July 13th, thanks."

"Can you check the records for a Robert Campbell?" Jefferson was saying into his phone. "July 19, 2001," he repeated. "Dead on arrival? What I'm after is – is cause of death... Heart condition?... Wasn't he a cardiac surgeon? Wouldn't he have known about that?" He said curiously.

I sighed and jotted down the name and date while someone answered my next call.

"Hi, yes, this is police chief Phil Jones, I'm looking for information on... on Mrs Wallace's death... Two deaths. Who was the other?" I looked up as Jefferson watched me. "Ed Campbell. Any survivors?" I asked. "No, that's all I needed. Thank you very much."

I leaned back in my seat, stretching as Dean and Beth walked into the room. "This is insane Jefferson, oh my god!" He was staring over my shoulder at a list that was at least twenty people long. Every single one of them was dead.

"What's going on?" Dean asked, looking at us.

"They're dead. All of them," I said to him, feeling dazed.

"Who?" Beth asked, looking confused.

"All of mom's friends. Her doctor, her uncle – everyone who ever knew her, systematically wiped off the map one at time." I looked at her, the horror of what I'd just said starting to sink in.

"Including your mom," I said to her. Beth took a step back.

"What?" She asked.

"I spoke to someone, a school counsellor or something, someone who knew them growing up. Beth, your mom was my mother's best friend in high school." Dean frowned at that declaration, the strange conversation starting to sink in.

"But... but we weren't even living in Kansas, we didn't know you guys!" Beth said, shaking her head.

"Doesn't seem to matter," Jefferson said. "Many of these people are relatives, uncles, cousins, all of them dead and they were living all over the country."

"Well why? What's the purpose? I mean, why kill off anyone who ever knew Mom?" Dean asked, frowning.

"I don't know," I said, "but I'm certain it has something to do with the Yellow-Eyed Demon."

"Yeah, why?" Dean asked, looking at me.

I hesitated, but then figured I had nothing to hide. "That girl, from the farm in Nebraska, she's a hunter, she ran into me when you were out yesterday and told me I had some catching up to do."

Beth frowned. "That's odd." I nodded, it was very odd, who was this girl?

"But my mother died in a car crash," Beth said. "It was an accident."

"Was it?" Jefferson asked, crossing his arms. "Or was it made to look like one?"

Her eyes widened at that suggestion and she sank on to the bed nearest her.

"Oh my god," she said softly, staring at her hands. I knew exactly what she was feeling.

"Well, looks like we have some research to do," Dean said in his practical, lets-get-to-work voice. "Only I have no idea what to make of that one. Or where to start."

I shrugged, agreed. I looked down at my hand, the number the girl had written catching my eye. But maybe I knew where to start. I looked up at the others, they were starting to discuss breakfast, looking at the display board advertising a breakfast buffet in the motel diner. _No point in getting their hopes up, I'd just tell them when I new something. _

An hour later they were all off at breakfast and I'd pretended I needed a shower first. Instead I was in our room staring at the mysterious blonde woman.

"Someone went through a hell of a lot of trouble trying to cover their tracks," I said to her.

"Yep. The Yellow-Eyed Demon," she said.

"So, what's your deal? You show up wherever I am. You know all about me. You know all about my mom."

She looked exasperated with me. "I already told you. I'm ..."

"Oh right, right. Yeah. Just a hunter. Just some hunter who happens to know more about my own family that I do." I scoffed, looking back at her. "Just tell me who you are."

She smiled, looking down at the floor. "Sam... it..."

"Just... tell me who you are," I pressed, stepping toward her.

She laughed. "It doesn't matter."

"Just tell me who you are!" I shouted at her, frustrated at the lack of answers I was getting.

The girl looked at me stonily, the smile dropping off her face. "Fine," she said.

She blinked her eyes once and they turned black, completely black, then she blinked again and they were back to normal. I stumbled back, reaching for my bag.

"Think twice before going for that holy water," she said to me, leaning casually against the table holding my computer.

I fumbled around in my bag, struggling to get it open and find the flask of water. "Give me one reason I should."

"I'm here to help you, Sam," she said to me.

"Is this some kind of joke?!" I asked, finally laying my hands on the flask and pulling it from my bag.

"God's honest truth... or whatever," she said to me, taking a few steps in my direction.

"You're a demon," I snarled at her.

"Don't be such a racist," she quipped. "I'm here because I want to help you. And I can if you trust me."

"Trust you?" I said, smirking at her, holding out the flask in front of me, between us. _Was she insane?_

"Sam, calm down," she said soothingly.

"Start talking. All those murders... what was the demon trying to cover up?" I asked feeling a little agitated. _God damned demon, I should send her back to Hell right now! _Something in her eyes stopped me though.

"I don't know," she said.

"What happened to my mother?" I pressed on, wondering why I was bothering. Demons didn't help anyone except themselves. I knew that.

"I honestly don't know. That's what I'm trying to find out. All I know is that it's about you." She said.

"What?" I asked, confused.

She smirked. "Don't you get it Sam? It's all about you. What happened to your mom, what happened to her friends. They're trying to cover up what he did to you. And I want to help you figure it out."

"Why would you want to help me?" I asked.

"I have my reasons. Not all demons are the same, Sam. Not all of us want the same thing. Me? I want to help you from time to time. That's all. And if you let me, there's something in it for you." She said with a smile.

I stared at her. "What could you possibly...?"

"I could help you save your brother," she said to me. My heart almost stopped. _Was this is? Was this the lead we'd been looking for? _So far we'd found nothing, and now I had an honest-to-god real demon in front of me offering to help. Too good to be true? Maybe. But if I could control the situation, if I kept things on my terms, maybe I could use this to my advantage. I had to try, right? This was Dean. I wasn't about to let him go to Hell if I could help it.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter is _D__éjà vu_ by 30H3.

* * *

Wow, I just realised the next episode is _Bad Day at Black Rock _! I love this episode! I'm hoping to have it done by the end of the week because I'm away for a few days over the weekend. Might have to wait too, it's all going to depend on how well I can manage my time over the next three days as I work, deal with sick baby & annoying demanding ex-bf, and also have to get all my other stuff done for the weekend.

* * *

OK. People are doing my head in, so just going to post this - I had a few things I wanted to post but I'm getting harassed by SMS so will come back and edit AN later.

Hope you liked the chapter :)

Please leave a review, you know I love it!


	4. Closer (Sneak Peak)

**Author's Note:** This one is pretty much pure smut, so if you're not into that, don't bother reading :D Sorry! It's about the only thing I had ready to put up. Consider it a sneak peak into Beth's POV of _Dead In The Water _the chapter that has just been posted over at _How To Save a Life _by EarthhAngel. I will be doing the entire _Dead in the Water _from Dean & Beth's POV in a future edition, this was just a little fun while I was collaborating on EA's chapter :D

This story takes place directly after Kittanning which follows on from my three-part series _Bring Me To Life _at the end of _All Hell Breaks Loose._ Beth was thrown out a second-storey window by a poltergeist and impaled by a piece of timber. She's been in recovery since then; Dean and her have been sneaking around exploring their very new relationship behind John's back, not quite ready to tell him they're breaking the rules just yet.

Here they find themselves sharing a motel room with John & Cole, who has joined them on a case. While Dean and Beth are used to putting aside their desires due to bad timing, Cole isn't; so she and John are off having a little fun of their own ;)

* * *

_And I just can't pull my self away__  
__Under her spell I can't break__  
__I just can't stop__  
__And i just can't bring myself no way__  
__But I don't want to escape__  
__I just can't stop_

_I can feel her on my skin__  
__I can taste her on my tongue__  
__She's the sweetest taste of sin__  
__The more I get the more I want__  
__She wants to own me__  
__Come closer__  
__She says come closer_

* * *

**CLOSER**

* * *

_**Motel Room  
**_**Beth's POV**

I shut the door behind me with a grimace. I was hardly a prude, but at the end of the day you just don't want to see your father in an intimate embrace with your best friend. It just wasn't quite sitting right with me. I peeked out the curtain and saw they'd resumed their attentions on each other, as I watched, they climbed into the back seat of the Impala and I grimaced again. _Gross! _I didn't want to think about it. Dean would die if he knew what was going on the back seat of his precious _Baby._

_Dean. _That thought picked my mood up a little and I let the curtain fall closed. I raced across the room and knelt next to him at the side of the couch. His eyes were closed and his breathing had settled into a rhythm so I was fairly certain he was asleep. I grinned, and placed a few kisses into the crook of his neck. At the touch he groaned and shifted slightly, still asleep.

I trailed kisses along his jawline and then brushed my lips across his, taking his lower lip in my teeth and nipping slightly. He startled awake and I had a moment to rethink my plan when he suddenly shoved a knife up against my throat. I froze, watching him with a smirk, I knew he had control of his actions, but I wouldn't want to make any sudden movements.

Dean blinked sleepily and then seeing it was me, he relaxed and returned the knife under his pillow.

"Hey," he said with a smile, reaching out to smooth his fingers along my neck where the knife had been. "Something wrong?"

I shook my head and glanced back at my door.

"Kiss me," I said to him, and he frowned, looking around the room.

"Where is everyone?" He asked.

"Outside, Cole had a nightmare, Dad's with her," I said, _well I technically wasn't lying._

"You gotta kiss me right now and make me forget, I just saw the most disgusting thing." I said with a laugh.

"What?" He asked, still lying on the couch and brushing his hand along my neck.

"Some old dude going at this young girl out on a car," I said with a grimace. _Again, I wasn't technically lying, John was old... compared to us._

"Wow, you serious? Did Dad see?" He asked with a chuckle.

"I'm fairly certain he knows about it," I said with a grin. "Now… kiss me!" Dean grinned and leaned in to me, sliding his hand around the base of my neck.

A deep moan escaped from his throat as he pulled me against him, leaning in to the kiss. I ran my right arm over his side then up his back, sliding my hand under the t-shirt he was wearing so I could feel his bare skin under my hands. I groaned at the sensation, so acutely aware of how close he was to me.

Dean kissed me languidly, taking it slow and deep. I reached up to cup his face with my left hand, moaning at the taste of him, the feel of his lips as they traced along my own, his tongue sliding in to meet mine as we connected and caressed each other, drinking up every little sound that escaped our throats.

With a short groan, Dean sat up, continuing the kiss as he pulled me up beside him. He broke away long enough to settle me in his lap with my legs draped over his thighs while I leaned against the arm of the couch.

A soft yet calloused hand trailed the length of my bare legs, short bursts of electricity running along the skin of my outer thigh from the hem of my shorts and down to my knee. He teased the sensitive place under my knee and I giggled, ticklish. He smiled at my giggle and smoothed his hand further along my calves, down to my ankle, then stroked softly back along my leg. My breathing started to quicken, revelling as his touch caused my skin to raise in goosebumps. The simplest thing and he had me quivering beneath him.

I scooted further into his lap, feeling his arousal pressing below me. His skin was hot to the touch as I licked along his collarbone and up his neck, lingering my lips along his jawline, caressing his chin with my cheek, the stubble from today's growth only adding to the sensations that were threatening to engulf me. I felt my navel contract at the mere thought of him inside of me.

Reaching down I moved Dean's hand back to the hem of my shorts, moaning softly, guiding him where I knew he was hesitating to go, this was all so new to our relationship. I felt his hand start to slide under the fabric of my shorts, his fingers brushing along my inner thigh and I shivered in anticipation, moaning into his kisses. His thumb pressed up against my core, brushing along the material of my undies and I felt a gush of wetness spread out from me. I shifted, allowing him slightly better access as he broke away from the kiss, turning his attentions to sucking on the soft, tender skin in the crook of my neck.

He started to inch a finger inside of me, moaning when he found me wet and ready. I gasped with delight, arching up to meet his touch, leaning my head back against the arm of the couch while he slipped further inside me. He'd never taken things so far before, I found it intoxicating, years of wanting it, imagining it, and here it was. At the catch of my breath he plunged a second finger in, massaging me, thrusting with his touch and hitting that sweet spot within. I groaned loudly, feeling a soft wave of pleasure course through me and I arched against him. He dragged his fingers back out over my clit, sending a deep shudder down my body. I whimpered at the loss of contact.

Dean shifted, moving to kneel over me; sliding me down to lie on the couch, I looked up at him as he laid his body along mine. He kissed me again, his tongue meeting mine with an urgent fervour as his thigh slid in between my legs, his soft bare skin brushing warmly between me against my throbbing, aching centre. I could feel his arousal pressed firmly against my thigh and I moaned just thinking about it.

"Oh god," he said breathlessly, kissing my lips softly and hovering his mouth over mine. "We so don't have time for this," he complained, and I glanced over at the door. Just how long had John and Cole been?

I groaned, he was probably right. _Damn it. _However I wasn't ready to give up on our fun just yet and I slid my hand down into his shorts, grasping his erection firmly in my hand, delighting in the sounds it brought from him. His eyes dilated and he groaned, bucking against my attentions. I dragged my fingers along the underside of him, flicking my thumb across his tip, and he shuddered with pleasure, holding himself above me.

His fingers found their way back inside me and I struggled to focus, the sensations drawing me back into the pleasures of my own body. We forgot about the danger of being walked in on and succumbed to the moment, rocking against each other, drawing out the touches that had us quivering with sweet surrender.

I felt myself starting to peak and groaned into his shoulder as I kept one hand pumping him, my other arm I wrapped around his back, pulling him down to me. The shift in angles caused him to unbalance a little and he grabbed my side to reposition. I gasped a short painful breath as he pressed sharply against where I'd been impaled.

Dean froze, instantly aware of my discomfort.

"Sorry, uh sorry, are you okay?" He asked, pulling back immediately.

"Yeah, ow, it just hurt a little, I'm okay," I said to him, nodding. I had let go of him, just as he was now checking me over with his hands, our passions taking a back-seat in the wake of the pain that had shot through my side as he'd pushed on me. It was just as well because there was a rattle at the door and without any further warning Cole walked in with a self-satisfied look on her face, John right behind her.

"Uh, yeah," Dean said, shifting again to try and hide his level of arousal, which had fortunately fallen to a degree. "Yeah, it definitely looks pretty raw and red," he said, lifting my top slightly to peer at my wound, talking like this was the most normal thing in the world to walk into.

"Something wrong Bethie?" John asked, and I looked over at him, he seemed distracted, but he turned concerned eyes to me.

"Yeah, I mean, no, I just got this stabbing feeling all of a sudden, I thought maybe I'd pulled something in my sleep." I said with a shrug. Cole walked over to me with a smug look on her face, glancing between the two of us and leaning down to look at the wound. It gave Dean a chance to move back and sit at the other end of the couch.

She lifted my top to inspect the wound. "Everything looks okay, probably just some random nerve pain or something," she said dismissively, looking up at John. "Take two aspirin and call me in the morning," she chuckled.

I nodded and smiled, glancing over at Dean who was doing his best to appear unconcerned. "Well, I'm going to go back to bed, thanks for taking a look guys," I said, standing up from the couch with a grimace. I had no idea how I was going to get to sleep with the recent acts of teasing and play still fresh in my mind. I thought about a shower, but Dean beat me to it, taking some fresh clothes and a towel with him. I resigned myself to bed, trying to ignore the now uncomfortable feeling of my arousal seeping through the fabric of my undies and along my thigh. _Damn._

I shook my head at Cole as she climbed back into bed with me, turning on to her side to once again resume staring at John as he took the other bed. I rolled my eyes at the pair, it was typical John with his secrets. He didn't say anything, for a long while, and then he glanced over at me as the shower in the bathroom shut off.

"Get some sleep girls," John said. "Tomorrow is bound to be big, I need you rested."

I watched as Dean came back out of the bathroom, freshly showered, a new t-shirt and some sweatpants on. I smiled at him and he threw me a grin when John wasn't looking. John rolled on to his side facing the other direction and Dean quickly leaned down to kiss my forehead.

"Good night," he whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear, let alone anyone else. I smiled again and nodded, squeezing his hand before he went to the couch and settled in, closing his eyes and allowing sleep to claim him. Fortunately for me, sleep took me at the same time, so I wasn't left up all night fantasising about something I couldn't act on until a later date.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this little snippet is: _Closer by _Ne-yo

* * *

I've unfortunately run out of time to get _Bad Day at Black Rock _completed before I go away for the weekend. So you'll have to wait until Tuesday/Wednesday for that. But I wanted to put something up at least, so you get the sneak peak into something that will be posted soon enough.

* * *

OK. Gotta run, I need a few hours sleep before my 4hr drive later this morning! Enjoy :) See you all after the weekend!


	5. Bad Day At Black Rock

_I don't know where I'm at__**  
**__I'm standing at the back__**  
**__And I'm tired of waiting__**  
**__Waiting here in line, hoping that I'll find what I've been chasing._

_I shot for the sky__**  
**__I'm stuck on the ground__**  
**__So why do I try, I know I'm gonna fall down__**  
**__I thought I could fly, so why did I drown?__**  
**__Never know why it's coming down, down, down._

_Not ready to let go__**  
**__Cause then I'd never know__**  
**__What I could be missing__**  
**__But I'm missing way too much__**  
**__So when do I give up what I've been wishing for._

* * *

**BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK**

* * *

_**Impala**_

**Beth's POV**

Sam and Dean had been arguing for the last twenty miles about this new demon who had shown up. Not only had she helped us out in Nebraska when we took on the Seven Deadly Sins, she had turned us on to the strange information about Mary's family and friends all being systematically killed for some unknown reason. I sighed, leaning my head up against the glass of the window. Dean had a point, but so did Sam, she hadn't done anything to us yet.

"Because demon, that's why, I mean the second you find out this Ruby chick is a demon you go for the holy water, you don't chat!" Dean lectured Sam.

"No one was chatting, Dean," Sam said, rolling his eyes and looking angry.

"Oh yeah? Then why didn't you send her ass back to Hell?" Dean snapped.

"Because... because she said she might be able to help us out," Sam said hesitantly.

"How?" Dean asked, frowning at him. Sam paused, looking around at me, and then over at Dean.

"No really Sam, how? How could she possibly help us?" Dean asked.

"She told me she could help you, okay?" Sam said. I sat up at the sound of this, suddenly all ears. Dean threw Sam an incredulous look.

"Help him out of the crossroad deal?" I asked, leaning forward. Sam nodded at me.

"What is wrong with you guys, huh?" Dean said, looking back at me. "She's lying, you gotta know that, don't you? She knows what your weakness is, it's me." He paused, and I looked down. He was right, we didn't consort with demons, in fact normally I was first in line for sending them back to Hell. But then, things changed, and I had a countdown going on in my head like a ticking time bomb, I owed it to all of us to explore every option.

"What else did she say?" Dean asked. Sam was silent, refusing to talk. "Dude?" Dean pushed, still frowning.

"Nothing," Sam said, pausing. "Nothing, okay? Look I'm not an idiot Dean, I'm not talking about trusting her, I'm talking about using her. I mean, we're at war right? And we don't know jack about the enemy; we don't know where they are, we don't know what they're doing. I mean, Hell, we don't know what they even want."

He was right too. Half the problem was that all these arguments were making sense on some level, we were in deep, and the normal rules just didn't seem to apply any more.

"This Ruby girl knows more than we will ever find out on our own," I mused, thinking about our options. I didn't like it any more than Dean, but maybe Sam had a point.

"Yes, it's a risk," Sam interjected. "I know that, but we need to take it," he said, looking directly at me. We had been searching for weeks for a way out of this demon deal and come up with nothing. If Sam, research extraordinaire was saying we needed to take this risk, then maybe there was something to it.

"You're okay right? I mean, you're feeling okay?" Dean asked suddenly, looking at Sam.

"Yes I'm fine, why are you always asking me that?" He responded, a little annoyed.

The sounds of a ringing phone started to trill through the car. We all reached for our phones, I don't know why, it wasn't a ring tone any of us were currently using.

"It's not mine," Sam said.

"Check the glove compartment," I said suddenly. "It's Dad's."

"Dad's?" Sam asked, confused.

"Yeah, we keep it charged up in case any of his old contacts call," I said. So far it hadn't happened since he died.

Sam hurried to open the glove compartment before the phone stopped, grabbing and answering it.

"Hello?" He said, listening to the other end. "Yes... this is Edgar Cayce..." I smirked, good one John,_ Edgar Cayce_, I shook my head at the name. He and Dean were as bad as each other with these names.

"No, no, no, no – don't, don't call the police, I'll handle this myself. Thanks. You know, can you just, can you just lock it back up for me?" I frowned, glancing at Dean who shrugged at my look. "Great. Uhm, I – I uh, I don't have my book in front of me..." Sam said gesturing for a pen, I grabbed one out of my journal and passed it to him. "...do you have the address so I can... sure, okay. Go ahead." Sam jotted down an address and hung up the phone, thanking the person on the other end.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

"Dad ever tell you he kept a container at a storage place?" Sam asked, looking first at me and then Dean.

"What?" Dean asked, looking confused.

"Outside of Buffalo?" Sam said.

"No way," I said, looking intrigued. John had never mentioned any such thing. We'd often used them to store things temporarily, like my motorcycle, but he'd never mentioned anything in Buffalo.

"Yeah, and someone just broke into it," Sam said. Well, that was interesting.

* * *

_**Buffalo, New York  
**__**Next Morning**__**  
**_

**Dean's POV**

The storage facility had several levels to it. We took the elevator down to the basement level, it whirred and moved slowly, I saw Beth take a few steadying breaths; sometimes the claustrophobia was there, sometimes it wasn't. Today it seemed to be pretty good, she smiled at me weakly and I reached out to squeeze her hand.

"Man..." I muttered impatiently as we waited to get to the next floor.

"What?" Beth asked, slipping her arm through mine and giving me a concerned look. I smiled at her and shook my head.

"Just Dad. You know him and his secrets. Spend all this time with the guy and it's like we barely even know the man," I said quietly. I knew that she understood, possibly even more so. I still couldn't get over how Dad had ordered Beth to keep quiet when she'd seen him in Lawrence while he was missing; and then there was the whole relationship with Cole, I didn't even want to touch that with a ten-foot pole, the man was a Pandora's box full of secrets.

"Well, we're about to learn something," Sam said, getting out and wandering down toward the container that had been Dad's. I unlocked the padlock and opened the sliding door. Beth shone her flash-light into the dark room, trying to light it up a bit. My eyes were immediately drawn to the big red devil's trap drawn on the floor in red – it covered the entire entrance.

"No demons allowed," Sam said, curiously. I'd also noticed something else.

"Blood," I said, pointing to bloody footprints that were crossing the floor. "Check this out," I said, crouching down and running my finger along a tripwire. It was attached to a shotgun, hidden inside a large animal skull.

"Ouch, whoever broke in here got tagged," Sam said.

"Dear old Dad," I said with a grin as I looked around. "I got two sets of boot treads here, looks like it was a two-man job. And our friend with the buckshot in him, looks like he kept on walking," I pointed to the footprints that were scattered around the container.

"So what's the deal? Dad would do work here or something?" Beth asked, looking around the container, venturing a little further inside.

"Living the high life, as usual," I commented, gazing at the dusty contents. I aimed my flash-light at the shotgun in the skull and shook my head with a chuckle. Who on earth would hide a shot gun in a skull? I was trying to decide if it was a joke or not.

Beth looked over a shelf near her, picking up a dusty trophy. "1995," she commented, reading the plaque on it.

"No way!" Sam exclaimed, coming over to grab it off her. "That's my Division Championship soccer trophy. I can't believe he kept this." His eyes softened at the sight of the trophy, and the new-found knowledge that Dad had kept that trophy all these years.

"Yeah, about the closest you ever came to being a boy," I said with a chuckle.

I turned around to a table and spotted a familiar sight. "Oh wow!" I exclaimed, reaching forward and grabbing the shotgun. "It's my first sawed-off. I made it myself. 6th grade." I said to Beth with a smile. I grinned and pumped the shotgun, she still worked like a charm. Sam wandered further into the container while Beth reached out for an item on a shelf.

"I remember that," I said, coming to stand next to her as she flipped through a scrapbook she'd put together of our first year together. "Man you were always taking photos of us all," I chuckled, looking at the photos as she flipped through them. Beth smiled at a couple where we were all sitting out the front of the country's biggest ball of twine. There was one where I was pretending to carry it on my back, she'd taken it from a distance. I laughed softly, that day coming back to my mind, fresh and clear.

"You sure took a lot of me..." I commented slyly, leaning behind her and wrapping my arms around her waist as I kissed the back of her neck. "What's with all the ones were I am sleeping?" I asked with a cheeky grin.

Beth laughed and leaned back into me, turning to kiss my cheek. "Well it's the only time you weren't annoying me," she said with a grin.

"Oh yeah... was that it?" I asked as I squeezed her a little tighter and kissed the crook of her neck, she laughed softly. I smiled, running my fingers over one of my favourite photos; it was of her and I standing with our sawn off shotguns in a hunting pose, getting ready for some shooting practice – we had to be barely sixteen and eighteen. Beth sighed a little sadly.

"What's wrong?" I asked, holding her tight.

She glanced back at me with a sad twitch to her mouth. "Ten years have passed since I made this scrapbook, ten long years, and yet in the same breath it's as if they've flown by," she said quietly. I didn't know what to say to that, I knew what she meant. We both stood there a little longer in silence. Then she pulled away as she started going through the shelves again. I noticed she kept the book with her as we continued looking around.

My eyes caught sight of a book, sitting on the shelf above where all our items had been. _Leaves of Grass. _I frowned, I had seen that book somewhere before, _hadn't Dad carried it around with him for a while?_ I couldn't quite remember. It seemed like such an odd choice for Dad. I picked it up, flipping through it and a couple of photos fell out.

"What are they?" Beth asked as I leaned down to pick them up.

"Photos..." I said, looking at them. She joined me, glancing at the photos then the cover of the book.

"Oh, I know this book." Beth said. The photos were older, one of John and Cole taken on college campus somewhere, the other of her smiling broadly at him. "It's Cole's favourite," she commented quietly. I raised an eyebrow then shook my head. I opened the book, Cole had handwritten a note in there,_ "__Tis __better to have loved and lost, __than never to have loved at all.__" _I smirked, seemed like something stupid that she'd say.

I had always thought it was a stupid sentiment, that quote. Especially now, with only eleven months to go before we'd have to test out that theory. Right now I couldn't think of anything worse than loving Beth like I did, and losing her. I had a feeling Cole would also argue with her point given the loss she'd experienced with Dad's death. I might not like to admit it, but the pair of them had a connection, that much was clear, possibly more than him and Mom had experienced. It was still weird to me though, she was my age after all.

Sam had reached a door which led into a back room enclosed in wire, there was a chain on the door and it had been cut using bold cutters. I joined him and we both exchanged a look over the cut chain.

"Holy crap!" I exclaimed, stepping into the room. "Look at this, he had land mines... which they didn't take. Or the guns." I shone my flash-light around at the table and wire rack holding all these items, everything way covered in a thick layer of dust. I looked around the room, frowning. "I guess they knew what they were after, huh?" I said, looking back at Beth.

She nodded and walked into the room, placing the scrapbook on a shelf near the doorway. Her eyes were drawn to another shelf against the far wall, it had a collection of different shaped wooden chests, all locked with padlocks and covered in symbols inscribed on the outside. Sam was already looking at them.

"Hey, guys, check this out," Sam said, pointing at the chests. We walked over and looked at the symbols, most of them were unfamiliar to me. Beth pointed to one in particular.

"See these symbols? That's binding magic. These are curse boxes," she said in awe, I'd never actually seen one before.

"Curse boxes?" I asked. "They're supposed to keep the evil mojo in, right? Kind of like the Pandora deal?"

Beth nodded. "Yeah, they're built to contain the power of the cursed object," she answered.

"Well Dad's journal did mention a whole bunch of stuff, you know? Dangerous hexed items, fetishes, he never did say where they ended up," I said, and she nodded.

"This must be his toxic waste dump," Sam commented, looking at the boxes. He pointed to a spot on the shelf where the dust was disturbed. "One box is missing... great."

"Well maybe they didn't open it," I said hopefully. We all knew as soon as I said it how unlikely that was.

We looked around the container a little more, but it was pretty clear that for the most part, the box was what these thieves had been after. A quick look at the security footage also proved useful. Beth smirked at me as we watched it.

"Should've blacked out their plates before they parked in front of the security camera," I said with a shake of my head, _how stupid were these guys?_

Beth grinned at me, and started toward the car. "Must be our lucky day!"

* * *

_**Apartment Complex**_

**Sam's POV**

Dean pointed at the plates of the car we pulled up next to a short while later. "Connecticut. Last three digits 880," he said.

"That's them," I confirmed.

We headed up to the apartment registered as the address for the car, and I picked the lock, letting us in quietly. Dean stalked ahead, gun in the air, and Beth and I followed with our guns lowered to the floor as the hallway was narrow.

"Royal Flush. Grossman, that's the second Royal Flush in eight hands!" A man said from the living room.

"Yeah, this is a lot of fun," Grossman replied grumpily.

"I can't lose. I mean really, I – I can't lose!" The man said. "Maybe this thing really works? You know what I'm saying?" He slapped an item down on the coffee table, a metallic ring echoing down the hallway to where we were standing. "I tell you something, there's no way in Hell we are handing it over to the stuck-up bitch now, not after all we've been through. Uh uh. Let's go, huh? Let's get out of here, let's go have some fun!" I looked over at Dean and he nodded, taking the lead.

"Freeze! Freeze! Nobody move!" Dean shouted, advancing into the kitchen with Beth and I behind him, guns now raised.

"Don't move!" Beth ordered them, and I found myself looking a pair of petty criminals, they were dressed in worn out clothes, and they looked like they couldn't pull together enough sense to make it to next Tuesday, and yet they'd known exactly what they were looking for in John's container. _Middle men, _I thought with a grimace. _Hired to do the dirty work._

"Don't move!" Dean shouted at them as they started to back away, hands in the air. Dean and I moved into the living room from the kitchen, Beth covered us from where she was standing.

"What is this?" One guy asked.

"Stop!" I ordered them.

"All right, give us the box," Dean said, "And please tell me that you didn't..."

"Oh they did," I said, looking at the table near me, the curse box was open and empty.

"You opened it?!" Dean shouted, shoving one of the guys up against the wall.

"Are you guys cops?" He asked Dean suddenly.

"Huh?" Dean asked, shoving his gun against the guy's chest.

"Are you guys cops?!" The guy asked again.

"What was in the box?" Dean asked. The guy looked over at the coffee table, and I followed his gaze to a rabbit's foot lying on there. Dean saw it too.

"Oh was that it, huh? It was, wasn't it?" He said. Dean looked back, talking to Beth and I. "What is that thing?" He asked. The guy used Dean's distraction to act, knocking Dean's gun clean out of his hands to the floor. The gun fired a single shot which ricocheted off a radiator, hitting my gun, and I was forced to drop it. Beth stared at me and then flinched as her own gun was hit with the same bullet as it zinged off a metal section on the ceiling. _What the? _Beth's gun slid across the room and we stared in amazement as the bullet finally stopped, hitting a lamp and breaking the light. I and the other guy who we'd heard called Grossman acted at once, both moving for my gun.

Grossman shoved at me, pushing me straight into Dean, we both stumbled back, and my arm swung around to elbow Dean in the chin, knocking him back into the coffee table, which collapsed under his weight. My eyes followed the rabbit's foot as it flew through the air from the impact.

"Sorry!" I said to Dean who was struggling to get up. Grossman launched himself at me and we both hit the floor, Grossman getting the upper hand and punching me a couple of times in the face. Beth started moving for her gun and tripped on a rug that was underfoot, head-butting the floor.

She looked up, shaking her head a little and scrambled toward something she spotted on the floor, but the other guy got to it first, swinging it up and around to point Dean's gun at Dean, hitting Beth square in the face during the process as she tried to stand. She stumbled back, falling to the floor again. If this were a cartoon, you'd see stars spinning around her head.

Grossman had been watching this whole thing unfold as I was – it had all happened in a matter of thirty seconds; when Beth hit the floor he resumed his attack, strangling me as I struggled to get a grip on him. Dean was standing with his hands in the air, the other guy finally managing to get the gun pointed at him. I vaguely saw the item we were after just out of arms reach. I stretched, trying to grab it finally feeling the soft fur within my hand. I grasped it tight and then threw my arms out to break free of Grossman's grip. I brought my feet up to kick at the man, sending him flying across the room, clear into the kitchen.

I stood up and looked at Dean. "Dean! I got it!" I cried out triumphantly. The guy pointing the gun at Dean moved and cocked the gun straight into my face.

"No, you don't," he said menacingly.

I looked on in horror as Grossman got his hands on Beth's gun, which he'd landed next to, standing up at the same time as the other guy pulled the trigger.

"No!" Beth screamed, but the gun never fired. I looked on in shock as the gun jammed; Dean sprung into action as the guy tried again to empty the gun into me, cursing when it stopped working. He stumbled back, surprised, and tripped over the broken coffee table; he stumbled and flipped over the back of the couch, knocking himself out. I stared at him, shocked, my mouth hanging open a little.

Grossman panicked and started to point Beth's gun at me.

"Sam!" Dean shouted at the movement. Beth moved to intercept but didn't need to because as Grossman took a couple of steps toward me before he stumbled into the partial wall beside him, the bookshelves behind him collapsed clear off the walls, knocking him out cold. Beth's gun flew out of Grossman's hand as he fell, and I caught it mid-air, looking down in surprise. I stared again, _what the hell was going on? _Dean and Beth both looked astounded, I imagined I did as well.

"That was a lucky break!" Dean said with surprise. "Is that a rabbit's foot?" He asked, looking at the item I was now holding. I held it up for us to see and Beth walked closer to get a better look.

"I think it is," I said with a curious look.

"Huh..." Dean said, taking in a deep breath, looking completely shocked at everything that had just happened.

* * *

_**Biggerson's Family Restaurant**_

**Beth's POV**

Sam and I were looking through John's journal trying to find any kind of notation about the rabbit's foot. So far, we'd come up empty. Dean climbed into the driver's seat carrying a paper bag in his hands, I glanced at it curiously, wondering what he'd been up to.

"I'm not finding anything on it in Dad's journal," Sam muttered, completely missing whatever Dean was up to.

I didn't have to wonder for long as he reached in and pulled out a handful of scratch cards, holding them up in front of Sam.

"Dean, come on," Sam said with an exasperated tone.

"What?!" Dean asked, surprised. "Hey, that was my gun he was aiming at your head, _my gun _don't jam so that was a lucky break. Not to mention them taking themselves out, also a lucky break." He held a card out to Sam. "Here, scratch one." Sam gave him a frustrated look. "C'mon Sam! Scratch and win!" He handed Sam a coin along with the card. Sam scratched it.

"Dean, it's gotta be cursed somehow, otherwise Dad wouldn't have locked it up." Sam said, handing the card back. Dean ignored Sam and was busy inspecting the scratch ticket.

My phone rang and I looked at the display, it was Bobby returning my call. "Hey Bobby," I said, climbing out of the car, half listening to Dean and Sam, but focusing on the call.

"$1200..." Dean said in amazement. "You just won $1200! Wooooo!" He laughed and looked excitedly at his brother. "I don't know man, doesn't seem that cursed to me!" He laughed again and handed Sam another card.

I explained what had happened to Bobby while Dean continued to ply Sam with scratch tickets, each one apparently yielding some kind of win.

"_He touched it?!"_ Bobby exclaimed on the phone._ "Dammit Sam!"_

"Well, Dad never told us about this thing Bobby. I mean, you knew about his storage place at Black Rock?" I asked him.

"_His lock-up? Yeah, I knew. Hell I built those curse boxes for him," _Bobby replied, and I frowned. How was it that he never told us about that place? Sam and Dean got out of the car, Dean spread the scratch cards on the hood of the Impala, a concentrating look on his face as he calculated the winnings in his head. Sam frowned and looked over at my feet.

"_Listen, you have got a serious problem," _Bobby said to me. I didn't like the sound of that, but then, when didn't we have a serious problem? Our entire lives seemed like a serious problem. "_That rabbits foot ain't no dime store notion," _Bobby said as Sam walked over toward me. I watched, he bent down and picked up a gold watch, holding it up for Dean to see. Dean gave him two thumbs up and mouthed _Awesome _at him, I shook my head, I swear the blood was draining from my face.

"_It's real hoodoo, old world stuff," _Bobby continued. "_Made by a Baton Rouge conjurer woman about a hundred years ago."_

I was marvelling at the gold watch, which Sam was admiring now. "It's a hell of a luck charm," I commented.

"_It's not a luck charm, she made it to kill people, Beth!" _Bobby said. I froze, switching the phone to speaker and waving Sam over.

"_See, you touch it, you own it. You own it, sure, you get a run of good luck to beat the Devil. But you lose it, that luck turns. It turns so bad that you're dead inside a week." _Bobby said.

Sam shrugged and looked at me. "So I won't lose it Bobby," he said.

"_Everybody loses it!" _Bobby yelled down the phone at us. I grimaced.

"Well then how do we break the curse?" I asked him.

There was the sound of Bobby sighing, and I knew that was not a good sign. _"I don't know if you can," _he said. Sam looked uncomfortable and tucked the rabbit's foot into his jacket pocket.

"_Let me look through my library and make some calls," _Bobby said resignedly. _"Just sit tight." _He ended the call and I looked up at the boys. Dean was holding the scratch tickets in one hand, still standing by the Impala and waving them at us.

"Dude! We're up fifteen grand!" He said excitedly. Sam and I looked at each other with a sigh.

We decided to go into the restaurant and have something to eat while we waited for Bobby to get back to us.

"Don't worry," Dean said as we entered the fast food chain. "Bobby'll find a way to break it. Until then, I say we hit Vegas, pull a little Rain Man," he said with a chuckle. I had to laugh, same old Dean, always playing the odds. Only the odds were slightly stacked in our favour at the moment. "You can be Rain Man," he said to Sam.

"Look, we should just lay low until Bobby calls back, okay?" Sam said, turning to the seating host. "Hi, uh, table for three please."

"CONGRATULATIONS!" He yelled out and an alarm sounded while the guy started to grab something.

"It's exciting, I know," Dean said sarcastically to the man.

"You are the one millionth guest of the Biggerson's Restaurant family!" He said, pushing a plastic board toward us. Staff all around us started singing and taking photographs as balloons and streamers fell from the ceiling. I looked down at the board that was sitting in front of us, it was a fake check declaring we would have free meals for one year.

I glanced over at the guys and Dean was smiling broadly, looking thrilled with the whole situation, Sam just looked embarrassed and miserable.

An hour later and Dean was digging into his third bowl of ice cream, I shook my head at him.

"Babe, don't you think you're taking this whole one-year-to-live thing a little overboard?" I asked. He chuckled and shoved a spoonful of ice cream at me.

"I say from now on, we only go to places with Biggerson's," Dean declared and I shook my head at him. Well I suppose it would save on the food bills for a year, mind you, not that we paid for our food anyway – at the moment David Hasselhoff was on one of our fake cards.

"C'mon! It's free! You know you want some," he said, raising an eyebrow at him. I glanced down at my meal, it was mostly untouched. I'd lost my appetite thinking about how messed up our lives were. I had Dean who was looking at eternity in Hell in less than twelve months, and now I had Sam who stood to die within a week if he lost that damn rabbits foot. It was pretty ironic that no matter what we did Sam just didn't seem to be able to keep out of harm's way. I thought about sending him back to college, not that he'd go, because damned if things hadn't seemed a lot easier and safer when he was off studying to be a lawyer rather than chasing demons with us.

Dean was staring at me, noticing the troubled look on my face. He shoved the spoonful of ice cream in his own mouth, swallowing and then leaning over to kiss me.

"Cheer up, it'll all work out, you'll see," he reassured me. I wasn't so sure.

Sam looked up from his laptop and sighed. "Bobby's right. It's lore goes way back. Pure Hoodoo. You can't just cut one off any rabbit. Has to be in a cemetery, under a full moon, on a Friday the thirteenth."

Dean was struck with brain freeze from the ice cream all of a sudden, clutching at his head and groaning. Sam laughed at him as a waitress came up to the table with more coffee.

"Can I freshen you up?" She asked Sam, I raised an eyebrow at the attention she was giving him, but was busy giving Dean some tender loving care for his brain freeze.

"Here, have some coffee," I said to him, "It's hot, it'll help."

The waitress poured fresh coffee into a couple of our cups, but on the last one she spilled it on the table with a frustrated gasp.

"Oh! Let me mop up here," she said quickly, pulling out a cloth from her apron.

"No, no, don't worry, it's okay. It's okay.. I got it.. uh.." Sam stuttered as Dean drank down the last of his coffee.

"It's no trouble, really," the waitress said with a charming smile.

"Okay," Sam said, looking uncomfortable.

"Sorry about that," she said, when she was done wiping up the spill.

"It's all right," Sam said with a smile. I raised my eyebrow and elbowed Dean in the side, he chuckled, giving the waitress an appraising look as she finished cleaning up and walked away, looking over her shoulder and smiling back at us. Sam turned to look as well.

"Dude, if you were ever gonna get lucky..." Dean said with a shake of his head.

"Shut up!" Sam said with a smirk, reaching for his cup of coffee. He knocked it over and the coffee spilled all over the table and himself, causing him to jump out of his seat.

"Oh! Oh Geez.. uh.." he panicked and turned, walking straight into a waiter carrying a full tray of meals, food went flying everywhere. Dean and I looked in on shocked horror while Sam gave the waiter a mortified look. "Sorry!"

He turned to look back at us and I was struck with a sudden uneasy feeling.

"How was that good?" I asked, looking at him and pointing to the mess surrounding us.

Sam reached into his pocket and then his expression turned panicked, he pulled out his hand, frantically searching the rest of his pockets, and then looking under the table. The expression on his face said everything, the rabbit's foot was gone.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean exclaimed as our situation started to sink home.

We raced out of the restaurant, looking about frantically for the waitress. Sam tripped over his own feet, hitting the pavement face first. Dean and I turned to stare at him.

"Wow! You suck!" Dean said, reaching down to help Sam up.

"Ow..." Sam complained, pouting a little.

"So what, now your luck turns bad?" Dean asked, we looked at our little brother, his jeans were torn at the knees and I could see the skin broken, bloody and raw.

"Looks that way," I said with a grimace.

"I wonder how bad?" Dean said thoughtfully, looking at Sam. That was a scary proposition, but then, Bobby had said this thing led to death, so I was certain it wasn't going to be a simple ride on a carousel.

"So what do we do now?" Sam asked, looking at us both. I sighed, and looked at Dean.

"Well, those guys said something about giving the rabbits foot to someone, maybe they might know something?" I suggested, it was a long shot, but the only thing we had to go on.

* * *

_**Wayne & Grossman's Apartment**_

**Dean's POV**

We'd learned that the guy who'd had the rabbits foot initially was called Wayne, we also learned he was dead from one of the neighbours, he'd died most peculiarly by tripping backwards and skewering himself through the back of his head on a roast fork. _How the hell does that happen? _

I opened the door and walked into the apartment, the others were right behind me, or so I thought. Beth had followed me, but Sam lingered back and I glanced at him, he shrugged, looking very nervous.

I shrugged back at him and wandered further into the apartment. Grossman was on a chair with a photo in one hand, a bottle of tequila in the other. He looked up as we came into the room and rolled his eyes, throwing his hand up in the air.

"Oh man. What do you want?" He asked.

"Heard about your friend, that's bad luck," I said to him.

"Piss off," Grossman snapped back.

"We know someone hired you to steal the rabbit's foot. A woman," Beth said to him.

"Oh yeah? How do you know that?" He asked.

"Because I heard you saying something earlier," Beth said simply, frowning at him.

"And... because she just stole it back from us," I added, grimacing at her.

Grossman looked at us both and laughed. Sam started to move toward him urgently.

"Listen man, this is seriou...!" His sentence never got finished. I watched in mild horror as Sam tipped on a wire that was across the floor, pulling a CD player that was attached to it off a shelf. He tried to catch it, the momentum causing him to lose his balance as he reached his free hand to grab a lamp to try and stop himself from falling; he failed and ended up pulling the lamp to the ground with him, hitting the floorboards with a sharp thump. I rolled his eyes and Beth grimaced at him.

"You ok Sam?" She asked, concerned.

Sam groaned from where he'd landed behind an armchair. "Yeah, I'm good!" He reached a hand up over the back of the couch and slowly pulled himself to his feet. Grossman smirked at him.

"I want you to tell us her name," I said sternly, taking a threatening step toward Grossman who simply smirked.

"Screw you," he said quietly to me.

"It wasn't a freak accident that killed your partner," Beth said to him, looking from Sam to Grossman.

"What?" Grossman asked, looking confused.

"It was the rabbit's foot," I explained.

"You're crazy man," Grossman said with a chuckle, looking at us incredulous.

"You know I'm not. You saw what happened, what it did. All the flukes, all the luck. When you lose the foot, that luck goes sour. That's what killed your friend. And my brother here is next. And who knows how many more innocent people after that?" I said.

"If you don't help us stop this thing that puts those deaths on your head," Beth added, and to his credit, the man actually started to look worried.

"Look, I can read people," I said, playing the good cop. "I get it. You're a thief, a scumbag, that's fine. But you're not a killer. Are you?"

Grossman shook his head. "No," he said quietly.

* * *

_**Outside Apartment Block**_

**Sam's POV**

Beth's phone started ringing as soon as we left Grossman's apartment.

"Hello?" She said answering the phone, "Bobby hey, hang on I'll put you on speaker." She and Dean stopped walking and she hit a button on the phone, handing the phone to Dean because he was gesturing for it. I felt a squish under my shoe and looked down to see that I had just stepped in a big piece of pink bubblegum. I groaned, _really? _I listened to the call as I looked around wondering what I could wipe my shoe on.

"_Guys, great news,"_ Bobby was saying. _"Wasn't easy but I found a heavyweight cleansing ritual that should do the trick." _

"Bobby, that's uh, great," Dean said, "except Sam... uh..." He looked over at me and grimaced as I was standing there, one foot in the air, pink bubblegum on the bottom.

"Sam lost the foot," Beth said, looking sympathetically at me. At least someone felt sorry for me, which is more than I could say for my dear brother who looked like he was barely managing to contain his laughter.

"_He what?!" _Bobby yelled over the line.

"Bobby, Bobby, listen this uh, this hot chick stole it from him," Dean said, looking over at me. "I'm serious! In her mid-20's, and she was sharp, you know, good enough at the con to play us."

I saw the grating of a storm drain and started trying to get the bubblegum off my shoe, scraping it back and forth.

"She only gave the guy she hired a name, probably an alias or something... uh Luigi or something?" Dean said.

"Lugosi," Beth corrected him, and I nodded.

"_Lugosi? Lugos – aw crap, it's probably Bela,_" Bobby said.

I pushed my foot a little harder and suddenly my shoe pulled off my foot, dropping into the storm drain. I sighed, and knelt down, reaching in to retrieve it.

"Bela Lugosi?" Beth asked with a grin. "That's cute."

"_Bela Talbot's her real name. Cross paths with her once or twice," _Bobby said.

"Well she knew about the rabbit's foot, is she a hunter?" Dean asked. I couldn't reach the bottom of the drain so I lay down on my stomach to give myself a little further reach.

"_Pretty friggin' far from a hunter, but she knows her way around the territory," _Bobby said. _"She's been out of the country. Last I heard she was in the Middle East someplace." _

"I guess she's back," Beth said, glancing over at me and frowning. I shrugged, still reaching into the drain.

"_Which means seriously back luck for you," _Bobby said, I wondered if he was being ironic or making a joke.

"Great," Dean muttered.

"_But if it is Bela... at least I might know some folks who know how to find her," _Bobby said.

"Thanks Bobby. Again," Beth said with a smile. I couldn't reach the shoe, I gave up and stood up to face Dean and Beth, dirt and leaves on my jacket and pants.

"_Just look out for your brother, ya idjits!" _Bobby said in response, hanging up.

Dean looked back at me as he hung up the phone, I sighed at them dejectedly.

"What?" Dean asked, looking at me confused.

"I lost my shoe," I said with another sigh and shrug of my shoulders. _Could this day get any worse?_

Dean and Beth both looked down at my feet, one foot was wearing nothing except a sock. Dean looked up at me and sighed, clearly annoyed. He walked off, shaking his head while Beth looked on sympathetically, coming to wrap her arm around me. I hung my head, I was such a failure.

* * *

_**Motel Parking Lot**_

**Beth's POV**

Dean had pulled the Impala into the motel's parking lot, stopping just inside the entrance while I jumped out to register us for a room. I had the phone to my ear again, talking to Bobby.

"All right Bobby, thanks. We owe you another one." I hung up and got into the back seat of the car, looking at the boys. "All right, Bobby's got it on pretty good authority that this Bela girl lives in Queens."

"It'll take us about two hours to get there," Dean said, nodding back at me.

"So what are we doing here?" Sam asked, confused.

"You, my brother, are staying here because I don't want your bad luck getting us killed," Dean said to him, pulling the car into the main parking lot.

"Room two," I said to him, and he nodded and parked at the door. I got out and unlocked the door to the motel room while Dean led Sam inside, turning on the light.

"What am I supposed to do Dean?" Sam asked, his voice vaguely reminiscent of the time we'd had Dean on lockdown because he'd made the FBI's most wanted list.

"Nothing, nothing. Come here," Dean said, grabbing his arm and leading him to a chair. "I don't want you doing anything. I want you to sit right here, and don't move! Okay?" He ordered Sam, who seated himself in the chair with a sigh.

"Don't turn on the light, don't turn off the light. Don't even scratch your nose," Dean said for extra emphasis. I looked at Sam, worried.

"Dean, maybe I should stay?" I asked, frowning.

"No, no... I might need you to take down this Bela chick," Dean said, shaking his head. "It'll only be a few hours, he'll be fine." He looked back at Sam who was staring at us both with his puppy dog look. Dean grabbed my arm and pulled me with him, locking the door on our way out.

* * *

_**Bela's Apartment  
Queens, New York**_

**Dean's POV**

It was just coming up dawn when we reached Queens. I grinned at Beth and thought about a quick romp in the back seat of the car, but she had that whole pensive _'I'm worried about Sammy' _look on her face, so I didn't like my chances of scoring right now. I turned my thoughts back to the case, we had to get up into this fancy high rise apartment building and take back the rabbit's foot, simple.

Security cameras dogged our every move as we made our way to the lift. Chances were she had a link up to them if she was as good as Bobby said she was, and I didn't doubt Bobby on this one. Good, let her see us coming, maybe it would make her a little sloppy.

Beth picked the lock when we got to the apartment and stepped back to let me enter, she was scrawling something on a post-it note and chuckling to herself, I looked at her curiously. When we didn't encounter Bela right away, I figured maybe she hadn't seen us coming. Beth grinned again and stuck the post-it to the alarm pad. It read _Turn around. _I grinned and nodded at her, we separated, Beth entering the bathroom on one side of the hall, me heading down the hall toward the living area, avoiding the woman who was talking on the phone.

Beth made a noise and get her attention. I waited until I saw her pass the room, heading for the door. A slight intake of breath indicated she'd seen the note and spun around just as Beth stepped out with her gun pointed at the woman. Bela drew her gun and pointed it back at Beth, I grinned at the sight and slipped into the kitchen.

"You left without your tip," Beth said, deadpan. Bela smirked, all attitude. This was about to get interesting.

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

**Sam's POV**

I was bored out of my mind, I'd just been sitting here for hours, doing nothing. The least Dean could have done was turn on the TV for me. I rocked back and forth on the chair a little, then thought better of it, _what if I fell and broke my neck? _That was a sobering thought, so I put all four feet of the chair on the ground.

There was suddenly a clunking, grinding noise that came from the air conditioner unit, and smoke started pouring out the front of it into the room.

"Oh come on! I didn't … I wasn't..." I sighed, looking at the unit. _Unbelievable!_

I stood up and took a few cautious steps toward the unit. Suddenly the whole thing burst into flames as I stared in disbelief. I grabbed the comforter off the bed and attempted to use it as a fire blanket and smother the flames. I finally got it out, and with a sigh of relief, stood up from the near calamity.

My arm felt hot and I looked down to see that instead my jacket arm was now on fire! I panicked, flailing my arm around and trying to put out the fire with the curtains nearby. I got the fire out only to have the curtains tear and I fell over backwards, then everything went black.

* * *

_**Bela's Apartment**_

**Beth's POV**

"You're gonna give it back," I said to the woman. I knew Dean was in the kitchen searching for the rabbit's foot, I just had to buy him some time. Bela advanced slowly on me, her eyes locked with mine, our guns pointed at each other in a Mexican standoff... minus the Mexicans. I backed up a few steps keeping my gun trained on her.

Bela laughed. "Sweetie, no I'm not."

"Yeah, we'll see. Bela, right?" Dean asked, stepping down the hallway and standing behind me. Bela looked over at him, her eyebrow raising slightly.

"That's right, Dean," she answered.

"You know the thing's cursed don't you?" I asked, I kept my shoulders relaxed, my mind on the job at hand, I'd shoot her if it came right down to the wire.

"You'd be surprised what some people would pay for something like that," Bela said, seemingly not concerned at all what the consequences of her actions might be.

"Really?" Dean asked, curious.

"There's a lucrative market out there. A lot of money to be made. You hunters with all those amulets and talismans you use to stop those big bad monsters. Any one of them could put your children's children through college." Bela answered.

"So you know the truth, about what's really going on out there and this is what you decide to do with it? You become a thief?" Dean asked her.

"I procure unique items for a select clientele," she said.

"Yeah, a thief," I muttered.

"No," Bela said, looking directly at me. "A great thief." I narrowed my eyes at her, I didn't like her in the slightest.

* * *

_**Bela's Apartment**_

**Dean's POV**

"Look, Bela, our brother, he touched the foot," I said. "And when you took it from him, his luck went from..."

"I know how it works," Bela said with a smirk.

"So then you know he's gonna die unless we can destroy it," I said, realising as soon as it had left my mouth that this woman wasn't like to help us out.

"Oh... you can have the foot," Bela said insincerely.

"Really?" I asked, I could hardly believe our luck, which of course, meant that it probably wasn't happening.

"For one point five million," she said with a grin.

"Nice, yeah, I'll just call my banker." I said, not very amused.

"How'd you even find the damn thing? Stuck in the back of some stage place, middle of nowhere." Beth asked, she'd backed up as far as she was going, I was directly behind her, and she could feel me pressed against her.

Bela looked over her shoulder at the mantle piece, there was a ouija board and planechette sitting there.

"I just asked a few of the ghosts of the people it killed. They were very attuned to its location," she replied with a grin.

"So you're only out for yourself, huh? It's all about number one?" I asked.

"Being a hunter is so much more noble?" She asked, looking sceptical. "A bunch of obsessed, revenge-driven sociopaths trying to save a world that can't be saved."

"Well aren't you a glass half-full," Beth said with a smirk.

"We're all going to Hell, Beth. Might as well enjoy the ride," Bela commented.

"I actually might agree with you there," I said, chuckling. "Anyhoo, this has been _charming _but uh, look at the time. Oh, and this?" Beth turned to look over her shoulder and I was dangling the rabbits foot from my bare hand.

"Dammit Dean!" She muttered, giving me a look like I was trying to get myself killed.I was looking at Bela and she looked pissed off.

"Looks like you're not the only one with sticky fingers," I said with a laugh. "If it's any consolation, I think you're a truly awful person."

Bela moved to fire the gun and I stepped in front of Beth. The bullet flew wide, missing us both completely. She looked stunned and fired again, this bullet ricocheted around breaking several expensive looking items before finally hitting the ouija board.

I laughed, pulling Beth with me, as I taunted Bela with the rabbits foot, dragging Beth out the door. There was a final sound of a shot being followed and the splintering of wood as it hit the door.

"See ya!" I called out as we started running for the car.

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

**Sam's POV**

I woke up to a big guy with black military-style short hair cut and a beard duct taping me to a chair.

"Oh, he's awake!" The guy said when he saw me shake my head to clear it.

"Back with us, eh?" Said another guy with strawberry blonde hair and a narrow, elongated face smiling at me.

"We didn't even have to touch you," The bearded man told me. "You just went all spastic, and knocked yourself out? It was like watching Jerry Lewis try to stack chairs!"

I grimaced, this curse thing was getting out of control. Who were these guys? What did they want?

"Who are you? What do you want..." I was rudely interrupted by the blonde who snapped his fingers in front of my face.

"I used to think your friend Gordon sent me," he said.

"Gordon?" I asked, incredulous. Wasn't the man in prison?! "Oh come on!"

"Yeah, he sent me to track you down, and put a bullet in your brain," he said.

"Great. That sounds like him," I said to him, nodding.

"But as it turns out, I'm on a mission from God," the blonde said to me. I looked at him, confused, and then he hit me again.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
**__**A few hours later**__**  
**_

**Beth's POV**

We'd made exceptional time, I had to admit it, the rabbits foot made sure that we made every green light and any other circumstance that ensured we were back from Queens to where we'd left Sam in record time.

"I still think you're absolutely insane Dean! Are you in a hurry to die and speed up your trip to Hell?" I asked him, a little angry about the devil-may-care attitude. It had been scary enough when he wasn't on a one-way trip to Hell, now it was terrifying.

"Of course not! But I'm not going to lose this thing!" He said, frowning at me.

"I think we've already established that _everyone _loses it!" I muttered, leaning back in my seat and staring out the window. Dean pulled the car into the motel and I breathed a sigh of relief, we could grab Sam and go do this damn ritual and be rid of the thing.

"What's this?" Dean muttered, nodding toward an RV that was parked to the side, the interest had come with the sight of the motel room; the curtains had been ripped from the window. We got out of the car, and crept up on the window, careful to hide either side so we weren't seen.

I glanced in from my side and I could make out Sam tied to a chair, a couple of guys talking to him. I signalled this to Dean, who nodded.

"You were part of that demon plan to open the gate weren't you?" A man with red hair asked Sam, the question vibrated through the thin motel walls to us.

"We did everything we could to stop it!" Sam answered.

"Lie, lie, lie! You were in on it. You know what their next move is too, don't you?!" The guy asked Sam.

"No, I don't, okay? You're wrong about this," Sam said, shaking his head.

"Where are they gonna hit us next?" The guy asked. Sam remained silent, seething at the question. Red struck out and hit him, I flinched at the contact.

"Where?!" He yelled at Sam. "Gordon told me about you Sam. About your powers. You're some kind of weirdo psychic freak?"

"No, not anymore, no powers, no visions, nothing, it just..."

"Liar!" Red yelled at him again, this time punching him. "No more lies, there's any army of demons out there pushing at a world already on the brink. We're on deck for the endgame. So maybe, just maybe you can understand why we can't take chances." _What the hell did that mean?_

Red drew his gun and pointed it at Sam's head. Dean frowned and started to pick the lock to the motel room.

"Whoa, okay, okay, no don't – hold on a minute!" Sam said, starting to look worried.

"Hey, Kubrick... just..." the other guy in the room started to look concerned at his partner's actions.

"No, you saw what happened Creedy, ask yourself, why are we here? Because you saw a picture on the web? Because we chose this Motel instead of another? Luck like that doesn't just happen." I glanced down at Dean and he shook his head, opening the door to the motel room and smirking. They'd been looking for us and our luck had given up at precisely the wrong time.

"Look I can explain all of that if..." Sam's explanation was cut short.

"Shut up!" Kubrick yelled at him before turning to Creedy, "It's God Creedy, he led us here for one reason. To do his work. This is destiny."

"Whoa..." Sam said as Kubrick turned to point the gun right at Sam's forehead. Dean moved at the sound of that, slipping inside the motel room, I stayed outside, gun drawn ready to act as back up while Dean inched up behind Kubrick. Sam had his eyes squeezed shut, waiting for the inevitable, but it never came. Instead, Dean cocked his own gun, the sound echoing in the room.

"Nope," said Dean. "No destiny, just a rabbit's foot." Creedy put his hands in the air right away, looking from Dean to me.

Kubrick didn't panic, simply looking back at the pair of us and smiling. "Put the gun down son, or you're gonna be scraping brain off the wall."

"What, this thing?" Dean asked smugly.

"Yeah, that thing," Kubrick said.

"Okay, but you see there's something about me that you don't know," Dean said, and I saw him put his gun down, looking smug, and pick up a pen sitting next to it.

"Yeah, what would that be?" Kubrick asked him, turning to point the gun in his direction.

"It's my lucky day," Dean said with a grin, and I rolled my eyes. He tossed the pen toward Kubrick, and it lodged itself in Kubrick's gun – a million to one chance. Sam looked impressed and I had to chuckle.

"Oh my God, did you see that shot?!" Dean asked to the room, smiling to himself, his arms spread in the air.

Creedy lunged at Dean with a punch, I watched from the doorway while Dean side-stepped the attack and Creedy ran right past him into a wall, falling backwards and hitting the floor. Kubrick was staring at the pen in the barrel of his gun and then he pulled the pen out.

"I'm amazing," Dean said proudly, grinning at me. I couldn't help but smile back, forgetting that I was supposed to be angry with him.

Dean picked up the TV remote from the table and threw it hard at Kubrick, hitting him right between the eyes, knocking him out cold. Kubrick fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

Sam was bloody and tied to chair with what looked like entire roll of duct tape, but he was at least safe. Dean looked at him, then over at me, his arm still extended out from the throw.

"I'm Batman," he said suavely. I raised my eyebrow at him.

"Yeah... you're Batman," I said sarcastically, shaking my head.

* * *

_**Cemetery **_

**Dean's POV**

Sam and Beth were dealing with the ritual aspects. I'd just gone out and purchased a bunch of scratch cards, I was currently checking them over.

Beth sprinkled something on to the embers of a small fire we had built, and looked up at me. "All right. Bone ash, cayenne pepper... that should do it," she said to me.

"One second..." I said, waving her off.

"Dean, you..." Sam started to hassle me. I sighed at him.

"Hey, back off Jinx. I'm bringing home the bacon," I said, scratching another ticket. Sam and Beth looked at each other with identical sighs. I smirked and put the cards in my jacket, hanging over a gravestone nearby.

"All right, say goodbye _wascally wabbit!" _I said with a grin, pulling out the rabbit foot.

"I think you'll find that belongs to me," Bela's voice said behind me, along with the tell-tale sound of a gun being cocked. "Or, you know, whatever. Put the foot down, honey."

"No. You're not going to shoot anybody," I said, turning to her. "See I happen to be able to read people. OK, you're a thief, fine, but you're not..."

Bela ignored me, turning the gun on Beth and firing, hitting her in the shoulder. Beth recoiled with the impact, Sam catching her before she hit the ground.

I spun on the bitch, making a move toward her. "Son of a …!"

"Back off, tiger! Back off! You make one more move and I'll pull the trigger," she threatened. "You've got all the luck Dean, you I can't hit. But your sister? Your brother over there? Them I can't miss."

"What the Hell is wrong with you?!" I yelled at her. "You don't just go around shooting people like that!" I said, glancing over at Beth worriedly. I noticed it was the same shoulder I'd shot her in a while back, whilst under mind control. She was going to be pissed.

"Relax," Bela said. "It's a shoulder hit, I can aim. She'll be fine," Bela said. "Besides, who here hasn't shot a few people? Put the rabbits foot on the ground, now."

"All right! All right. Take it easy," I said, giving in. I bent down to put the foot on the ground, and then had a sudden idea.

"Think fast!" I said, tossing the rabbit foot directly at her.

She reacted without thinking, catching the foot with her hand. She looked down, realising what had happened and cursed.

"Damn!"

"Now, what do you say we destroy that ugly-ass piece of dead thing?" I asked her smugly.

Bela sighed, dropping her gun to her side. She walked over and dropped the rabbit foot in the embers of the fire with a sigh.

"Thanks very much!" She said, watching as the foot sparkled and burned before disintegrating altogether. "I'm out one and half million, and on the bad side of a very powerful, fairly psychotic buyer."

"Wow," I said from beside Beth, where I had my arm around her waist and she was leaning heavily into me, looking a bit pale. "I really don't feel back about that. Babe?"

"Nope. Not even a little," Beth said, glaring at her.

"Hmmm. Maybe next time I'll hang you out to dry," Bela said, turning to lean on the gravestone nearby.

"Oh, don't go away angry," I said to her. "Just...go away."

Bela smirked at me, then turned to walk away. "Have a nice night, guys."

I turned to Beth, worried. "Are you okay?" I asked her, looking at the shoulder she was clutching with her other hand.

"I'll live," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"I guess we're back to normal now, huh? No good luck, no bad luck. Oh! I forgot, we're up $46,000, I almost forgot about the …" I turned and started going through my jacket pockets. "...scratch tickets." When they weren't in the pocket I had put them in, I checked the others, just in case, while Sam and Beth looked on. They were gone. Bela's car roared to life in the distance and I glanced from her car to Sam and Beth, watching the woman drive away.

"Son of a bitch!" I cursed, I'd just been robbed, again!

* * *

_**Hospital ER**_

**Sam's POV**

Beth was sitting in one of the cubicles having just had the bullet removed from her shoulder, and then been sewn up. I watched her sitting with Dean, they were talking and laughing with each other, cursing their bad luck in having those scratch tickets stolen. Dean had been saying how they could have retired on that kind of money, and they'd been talking about all the places they wanted to go visit from their to-do list.

I sighed, leaning against the wall, this wasn't the way things were supposed to be. They weren't supposed to be planning a list of things to do, especially since we all knew we weren't going to get around to them. They should have their whole lives ahead of them, and yet they didn't. They had less than a year. Less than a year and they'd find themselves separated, Dean in Hell. I closed my eyes, not even wanting to think about it. If only I'd had a chance to do some research while holding that foot, maybe I'd have been lucky enough then to find the right contact, the right ritual, the right something to get Dean out of this deal.

I started to think about Ruby and what she was offering. The deal had to be bad, but what if she really could help us? Didn't I owe it to Dean and Beth to look into it? They were too stubborn to do it, although, I was starting to have my doubts about Beth, she was looking as if she'd jump at any opportunity if it meant getting Dean out of this deal, just like me.

Dean leaned in to take Beth's cheek in his hand, kissing her softly. She smiled back at him and I felt a stab of sorrow, mixed up with guilt. This was all my fault. I had to do something to save him, I just had to. I couldn't fail on this task, I couldn't let them down like that, not after all they'd done for me.

* * *

_**Hospital ER**_

**Beth's POV**

I flexed my shoulder experimentally and regretted it almost immediately. Groaning, I fell back against the pillow looking over at Dean next to me.

"One more shot to that shoulder and I'm going to lose use of it," I complained.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad," Dean said, his eyes twinkling as he reached out to stroke his hand along my face. I huffed at him, trying to be mad, but it was no use; I simply couldn't stay mad with the man, it wasn't in me.

I cupped my hand over his and held it in place, leaning in to his touch with a smile. My mind wandered to more pressing matters.

"So, we have Gordon pulling strings from inside, you know it's only going to be a matter of time before he gets out of there," I said to Dean, feeling the weight of responsibility in looking after Sam starting to shift and settle on my shoulders.

"Yeah, I know," Dean said quietly, looking over at Sam who was standing out in the hallway talking to a doctor. "We just have to keep low for a bit, he hasn't had anyone find us yet, and you heard it yourself, it was just bad luck that they found us this time – and that rabbit foot is gone now."

"Just the same, it worries me," I said to him, meeting his eyes as he turned them back to me. I swallowed hard, looking at him. _How was I going to do any of this without him? _

"Why don't we take a few weeks off?" Dean asked suddenly and I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"And do what?" I asked.

"I don't know, anything we want to, we could go see the grand canyon, hit Vegas, have a little fun for a change," he had that pressing worry in his eyes, like he didn't know if I was going to survive another round of hunting in the current mental state I was in. It had been a rough couple of days, first finding out he had a son, then hunting down a changeling that took him for food, and now this with the rabbit foot and Gordon sending someone to hunt Sam. Maybe he was right, maybe we did need a break.

"Yeah, maybe," I said and saw the need for a break in his eyes. "Vegas sounds good," I said with a grin. He chuckled and leaned in to me.

"I totally get it," he said, kissing me lovingly.

"Get what?" I asked when he pulled away.

"Why you're my one and only," he said with a smile. I blushed a little, I'm sure, I always did when he did things like that, even after all these years. I kissed him again, leaning my forehead against his and smiling back.

"I love you, you're my everything," I confessed to him, trying to keep the tears out of my eyes, he didn't need that right now. He pulled me into his arms and kissed my neck. After a few minutes he shifted, suddenly all energy again.

"We're still going to Vegas, right?" He asked. I laughed and nodded, pulling away to look at him.

"Of course, so long as I get a sexy dress to wear at the craps table," I bargained and he nodded.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," he said, grinning at me. He looked up at Sam out in the hallway and held two thumbs up. Sam looked confused at us both, but held his own thumbs up in response. Sam hated Vegas, I laughed thinking the poor guy didn't know what he'd just signed up for.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter is: _Down _by Jason Walker

* * *

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I did it justice. I don't think you can possibly put the hilarity of this episode into text, it's just way too funny to watch on the screen.

* * *

There's some fun little fanart pieces for this over at the Facebook page. I couldn't help myself, especially the "I lost my shoe" shot :D If you search for Dean & Beth Supernatural Fanfic you'll find the fan page. Some people have said they'd like to follow but are concerned about anonymity. I suggest just making a new account to sign up for it, that's what I did! (I don't need my whole family in my fanfic business haha)

* * *

Short piece next, we'll get a peak at Dean when he's sick, and also what really happened in New Orleans when Beth got hit by that "Hoo doo flu doo". If anyone has any other suggestions for little short pieces (questions about their past, their present, their relationship, or anything else), feel free to ask and I'll likely get around to answering them in a one-shot at some point!

* * *

Please leave a review :) You know how much I love it!


	6. Sin City

_And if I can last thirty rounds__**  
**__There's no reason you should ever have your head down__**  
**__Six foot five, two hundred and twenty pounds__**  
**__Hailing from rock bottom, loserville, nothing town_

_Text book version of a kid going nowhere fast__**  
**__And now I'm yelling, "Kiss my ass"__**  
**__It's gonna take a couple right hooks, a few left jabs__**  
**__For you to recognize you really ain't got it bad__**  
**_

_Until the referee rings the bell__**  
**__Until both your eyes start to swell__**  
**__Until the crowd goes home__**  
**__What we gonna do ya'll?_

_Give em hell, turn their heads__**  
**__Gonna live life 'til we're dead.__**  
**__Give me scars, give me pain__**  
**__Then they'll say to me, say to me, say to me__**  
**__There goes the fighter, there goes the fighter__**  
**__Here comes the fighter__**  
**__That's what they'll say to me, say to me, say to me,__**  
**__This one's a fighter_

* * *

**SIN CITY**

* * *

_**Bobby's House**_

_**Sioux Falls, South Dakota**_

It was like a production line at Bobby's; time to replenish the ammunitions which we'd been going through lately. Dean and I had hit up all the pawn shops while we were in Vegas, always a good place to get cheap jewellery and other silver items. Sam had ditched us on day three in Vegas, fed up with the silver hunts and craps table. He found himself a car and took off, ending up at Bobby's.

Free of our third wheel, Dean and I had decided to go on a bit of a road trip up to Reno when we were done in Vegas, hitting the pawn shops there too. I had always preferred Reno to Vegas. We didn't make it to the Grand Canyon, there was something a little too final about going there, like it would be the final good bye or something. Eventually we found our way back through Salt Lake City, past Mount Rushmore and the Badlands, arriving at Bobby's. We'd been gone almost four weeks, and with the exception of Dean getting sick with the flu for almost a week, we'd had a great time and were feeling completely rejuvenated.

Dean was melting down the silver we'd acquired on our travels over a bunsen burner, popping out silver bullet after silver bullet. I was on salt ammo duty, pouring rock salt into the empty shotgun shells in front of me. I looked at the shells curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"What's up?" Dean asked, seeing the expression.

"Hmmm, wonder if we could do this with Holy Water..." I said with a grin, and he chuckled.

"Not a bad idea, we might have to try that...don't know if the guns would like it though," he answered.

"Maybe we should start carrying high pressure water guns," I said with a laugh.

Bobby looked over at the pair of us from his desk and shook his head like we were mad, but you could see the smile on his face.

Bobby was working on the Colt, he had been for months. He had a diagram in front of him, and a magnifying glass as he tried to figure out how it worked.

Sam entered the kitchen, glancing over at the three of us. "Hey," he greeted us.

"Hey, what's up?" Dean said to him.

"Might have found some omens in Ohio. Dry lightning, barometric-pressure drop," Sam answered, pouring himself a drink from the sink.

"Well, that's thrilling," Dean said sarcastically, concentrating on what he was doing.

"Plus, some guy blows his head off in a church, and another goes postal in a hobby shop before the cops take him out," Sam said, joining us in the library and watching us.

I shrugged, looking at Dean. "Might be demonic omens," I said.

"Or just a suicide and a psycho scrapbooker," Dean said dismissively. I looked at him curiously, wondering why he was so hesitant to jump back into work, surely he had to be itching for a hunt?

"But it's our best lead since Lincoln," Sam said to him.

"Where in Ohio?" Dean asked, still watching his hands as he continued to create silver bullets.

"Elizabethville. It's a half-dead factory town in the rust belt," Sam answered.

Dean grimaced. "There's got to be a demon or two in South Beach," he said and we all chuckled.

"Sorry, Hef. Maybe next time," Sam said with a smirk.

"Damn, was hoping I could get Beth in a two-piece and all," Dean said with an appraising glance at me. I laughed and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

"We could always pretend we're in South Beach," I suggested with a grin. We'd pretty much commandeered Cole's attic bedroom since she'd taken off, it was a cozy little getaway for the pair of us. Dean grinned at me and raised an eyebrow.

Sam rolled his eyes and shook his head at us, choosing to ignore our conversation and instead focus on the Colt rebuild. "How's it going, Bobby?"

"Slow," Bobby answered, his usual chatty self when it came to the colt, the truth was, it was starting to do his head in.

"I tell you, it's a little sad seeing the Colt like that," Dean commented, frowning at the pieces spread across Bobby's desk.

"The only thing it's good for now is figuring out what makes it tick," Bobby commented.

"So what makes it tick?" Sam asked, and received a stern look from Bobby for his efforts.

Dean grinned over at Bobby. "So, if we want to go check out these omens in Ohio...you think you can have that thing ready by this afternoon?" Dean asked as he stood up, teasing the older man. Sam grinned and I bit my lip, fighting back a laugh, no way was I getting into this conversation.

"Well, it won't kill demons by then," Bobby said, looking up at Dean, not amused. "But I can promise you it'll kill you." He pointed the gun at Dean and grinned.

Dean smiled, grabbing his bag and looking over at me. "All right, come on, we're wasting the daylight," he said. I put my last shell down and nodded, grabbing my own bag off the couch beside me, and hoisting it over my good shoulder. The left one still kind of ached from the bullet wound, though I was starting to think it was phantom pain.

"See you, Bobby," I said as I started to follow the boys out through the kitchen.

"Hey. You kids run into anything – _anything – _you call me." Bobby said and we nodded at him.

* * *

_**Church  
Elizabethville, Ohio**_

I don't know why Dean had been so concerned about the daylight, wasn't like we were getting to Ohio before sundown. In fact, we drove through the night, arriving in town way before sunrise. We checked in to a motel for a few hours sleep and waited until dawn.

Nine in the morning found us on the steps to the church where the man had shot himself. We'd met with Father Gil, the priest who had seen it happen.

"There's not much left for the insurance company," Father Gil said, referring to our cover story of being employees for the company. "It was a suicide – I saw it myself."

"Well, this shouldn't take long then," Dean said to him, following him as he stepped down from the front steps near the altar and followed Father Gil toward the back of the church.

The father stopped and pointed up to a balcony above the pews. "That's where Andy did it. It's the first time I'd seen him in weeks. He used to come every Sunday."

"When did he stop?" I asked, looking up at the balcony.

"Probably about two months ago, right around the time everything else started to change," he answered, looking at us.

"Change how?" Sam asked, frowning.

"Let's just say this used to be a town you could be proud of. People...cared about each other," Father Gil said, glancing up at the balcony again. "Andy sang in the choir, and then one day, he just wasn't Andy anymore. It was like he was..."

"Possessed?" I prompted.

"You could say that," Father Gil said with a nod. "Gambled away his money, cheated on his wife, destroyed his business. Yes, like a switch had flipped." I exchanged a curious look with Dean who was writing in his notebook.

"Father, did you know the man who killed those folks in the hobby shop?" Sam asked.

"Sure, Tony Perkins," the Father said to us. Sam nodded, looking at us.

"Tony Perkins. Good man," Sam said.

"Would you say that his personality suddenly changed one day, too?" I asked gently.

The father looked at me, contemplating. "I never thought about it that way, but … yes. About the same time as Andy – about two months ago."

"Well, thank you, Father. Appreciate your time," Dean said to him, finishing up his notes.

Sam was pensive as we left, talking in hushed tones.

"Two months ago, we open up the devil's gate, all of a sudden this town turns into Margaritaville? It's no coincidence," he said urgently to us both.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
**_

Dean chuckled as soon as he saw the mirrored ceiling in our room. He sidled up behind me, sliding his hands around my waist and pulling me back into him where he gently ground his hips against mine. "Fun..." he said with a kiss to the back of my neck. "Hey Sam, you might need to..." his words trailed off as the door across the hallway opened and a young man stepped out wearing a grey fedora, and brown and white jumpsuit, the whole thing was finished off with a thick gold chain across his neck.

"Richie?" Dean asked, still holding me in his semi-compromising position. The guy looked over at us, and we walked up to him.

"Hey, Dean... Winchester, right? And Beth?" We nodded as a scantily clad girl appeared next to Richie. "This is my sister, uh, Cheryl," Richie said weakly.

"Hey," Cheryl said dismissively to us.

"Cheryl," Dean said, giving her the once over, I smirked and shook my head.

Richie pulled out a wallet and handed Cheryl some money.

"There," he said, as we all watched her sashay down the hallway in high heels. "Well, you know... step-sister," Richie said with a grin to Sam, who had appeared behind us.

"Come on in," Dean said. "This is our brother, Sam."

"Hey, how you doing?" Richie said with a smile, shaking Sam's hand.

"Not too bad. How do you guys know each other?" Sam asked, looking at me curiously and closing the door.

"It was while you were in school," I said to him with a smile.

"It was that succubus, in Canarsie right?" Richie asked, looking over at Dean.

"Yeah, yeah," Dean said with a nod, pulling his shirt out of his pants to hang loosely around his waist. I found myself getting distracted by the idea of mirrors on the ceiling, and Dean in a suit, with a tie.

Richie turned to Sam, his eyes lighting up. "Oh man. You should have seen the rack on this broad. Freakin' tragedy when I had to gank her."

My mouth dropped, _now hang on a minute!_

"Whoa, whoa. Wait. Who killed her? If I remember, your ass was toast until we showed up," Dean said, gesturing between me and himself.

"Oh, I forgot what a comedian this guy was," Richie laughed, looking at us. He glanced down at his phone when it started to ring. Dean talked right over the top of the tone.

"Richie, Richie, I told you then and I'll tell you again – you're not cut out for this job. You're gonna get yourself killed," Dean said and I was nodding my agreement.

Richie glanced at Dean and put the phone to his ear. "Talk to me," he said to the caller. He then looked at Dean and said: "FYI Winchester – words hurt." He shrugged and turned away slightly, listening to his phone. "No, it's not a good time, baby. Later."

Dean was throwing me an incredulous look, I shrugged, slipping out of my jacket, revealing my red halter top underneath. I looked in the mirror and checked out the scar from my latest gunshot wound, grimacing. Dean grinned and turned back to Richie who had taken a seat on the couch.

"You find anything in this town, anyway?" He asked the wannabe-hunter.

"Uh, no. I got nothing," Richie said. "Oh wait a minute. You mean as in demons and whatnot?"

"Yeah," I said with a raised eyebrow. _What the hell was he talking about?_

"Yeah...no, I got nothing." Richie said with a grin.

"Typical," Dean said, moving to start pulling some regular street clothes out of his duffel. "What about your sister back there?"

"Honestly, she definitely had the devil in her, but she wasn't no demon, you know what I'm saying?" Dean looked curious. "Right. Seriously. Church guy, hobby-shop guy – they were lunch meat by the time I got there. Maybe they were possessed, but I can't prove it." Richie stood up, eyeing me off as I pulled some jeans out of my own bag.

"You know Beth, you're looking particularly … devilish yourself... in that top," he said to me, raising his eyebrow and winking at me. I smirked and shook my head.

"Sorry Richie," I said, slipping my arms around Dean's waist, "I'm a one-guy kind of girl, got my own brother to attend to." I laughed, Dean looked surprised at the reference, it'd been a while since I called him my brother – I was completely playing up the whole Richie – Cheryl – siblings scenario. Dean grinned, putting his arm around me.

"Naughty," he whispered in my ear, and I giggled.

"Well you know, the offer is always there... whenever you want to upgrade to a real hunter," he said, looking at me confidently. Dean rolled his eyes and Sam decided to jump in and rescue Richie before either Dean or myself hit the man.

"Yeah, well, let's just say the demons are possessing people in this town... you know, raising hell..." Sam said.

"But why would a demon blow his brains out?" Dean asked, looking over at Sam.

"For fun?" Richie suggested. "He wrecks one body, moves to another. Like taking a stolen car for a joyride."

"Anybody else left in town who fits the profile – nice guy turned dick – that's still breathing?" I asked. Dean sat down on the bed and pulled off his shoes with a grunt. He stood up again and moved to the head of the bed, noticing for the first time the _Magic Fingers _attachment to the bed, he threw me a salacious look and I shook my head with a smile. Dean loved those things.

"There's Trotter," Richie said, drawing our attention back to him.

"Who's that?" Sam asked.

"He used to be head of the Rotary Club. Then he turned bastard all of a sudden. Brought in the gambling, the hookers. He practically owns this whole town," Richie said.

"Know where we could find him?" Sam asked.

"Oh, he'll be at his bar in a few hours," Richie said.

Dean clapped his hands, getting everyone's attention.

"Excellent! Great! Well, Sammy, sorry dude but you are on your own tonight, time to get you another room," Dean said and Sam sighed, looking at Dean.

"Dude, I just unpacked!" Sam said, gesturing to all his clothes on the bed.

"Hmmm," Dean said thoughtfully, looking over at me. "Maybe we can book out the honeymoon suite?"

I laughed and shook my head, "I'll see what I can arrange," I said, pulling my jacket back on and heading for the door. "You get the bags!"

"Man," I heard Richie say as I started to pull the door shut behind me. "You have it made!"

Dean laughed, "Yes, yes I do man." He said.

I shook my head, well, one couldn't say life was ever dull around Dean and Richie.

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

_**A couple hours later**_

The mirrors on the ceiling were starting to make me self-conscious now we were just lying around in bed cuddling. I pulled the sheet over the top of me and Dean groaned. "Awwww, I was enjoying the view," he said, turning to lie on his side next to me, running a hand idly over my hip. The vibrations from the _Magic Fingers, _which he'd just put on, were giving me all sorts of naughty ideas.

"Huh, is that right?" I asked, grinning and sliding in a little closer, edging my knee in between his legs, snuggling right up next to him.

Dean groaned and ran his hand down my back and over my buttocks pulling me snugly against him. "Think we can send Sam on his own to this bar? I'm sure Richie could back him up," he said as he started to kiss along my collarbone and up my neck.

"Uhhh, no, not really... Richie is more likely to get him killed," I murmured, wanting nothing more than to go along with his plan.

"That Richie, man, I can't believe he is taking the credit for killing that succubus!" Dean grumbled.

I laughed. "Must suck to be shown up by a girl hunter," I said, tracing big circles along Dean's back, softly rocking my thigh against his groin. He responded with a groan, rolling on to his back and pulling me to lie on top of him. I propped my arms on his chest and looked down at him, smiling.

"You can show me up anytime cherry-pie," Dean said with a smile. "So long as you give me something to ease my poor ego."

"Something like this?" I asked, trailing kisses along his jaw to his lips, gently nipping on his bottom lip before sliding my tongue in to slowly circle his own. When I pulled back Dean moaned, and nodded.

"That's good," he said, "that helps a lot."

There was a knock on the door and I groaned, looking up at it. Sam let himself in and stopped short, seeing the pair of us on the bed, wrapped in nothing but a sheet.

"Geez guys! You've had two hours already!" He complained, turning his back to us.

Dean laughed and smacked me on the ass, moving to sit up as I slid on to the bed beside him.

"Well you know, mirrors man, gotta try every position," he teased Sam with a chuckle.

"Dude, just shut up, all right?!" Sam said, shaking his head. "All right, you know what, just... meet me at my room in fifteen minutes, okay?" He didn't even wait for an answer, storming out the door and pulling it shut.

Dean glanced down at me and grinned. "Something we said?"

I laughed and shrugged. "You'd think he'd be used to it by now," I said with a grin. "Shower?"

The suggestion left Dean with another wicked look on his face. "Oh yeah, shower sounds good," he said, chuckling.

* * *

_**Trotter's Bar**_

I think we were all a little flabbergasted when we got into the down-town area. The boarded up little factory town of Elizabethville was vibing, full of people walking around drinking, flirting, laughing and having a good time. Sexy girls in short skirts and low-cut tops were everywhere – it was like Mardi Gras.

"I thought you said this was some boarded-up factory down," Dean said as he got out of the car, taking in our surroundings.

"It is," Sam said, looking at a girl in front of him who was practically falling out of her halter top. "At least, it's supposed to be."

Dean smirked and then raised an eyebrow at me with an appreciative look at the red halter top I was wearing with jeans. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's do some research."

We headed for the inside of the bar, passing a car with the door open, a woman who was all legs and little more gestured to Dean in a suggestive manner; Dean couldn't help himself, stopping and taking in the legs. I gave him a second and then gently took his arm, pulling him away. He slipped his arm around my waist and shook his head with a smile. _Oh yeah, this was going to be fun. _

_Trotter's_ was even busier inside than it was out on the street, people were crammed into every nook and cranny, slamming back shots, chatting, flirting, dancing, having an all around good time.

Richie came wandering up to us wearing a fresh outfit of white tank top with a pale orange and yellow Hawaiian looking shirt on, he'd lost the hat and had his hair slicked back.

"Oh Richie, look at you," Dean said, nodding at him.

"Hey," he said to us with a smile.

"Bringing satin back," Dean commented about his shirt.

"Oh, you like this? Try Thai silk – Canal Street. You have to pay $300 for threads like these, easy. Cost to me – fuggedaboutit," he said.

"How much is 'fuggedaboutit'?" I asked, raising my eyebrow at him.

"Ah, forget about it," Richie said with a wave of his hand. "That's Trotter over there. He sits there all night. Can't touch him." He pointed to a middle-aged man with a shaved head, wearing a black suit over a black shirt, up on a second landing that overlooked the bar.

"So, what do we do now?" Sam asked, looking around.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I think I'm gonna do a little investigating with that bartender," Dean said with a grin, looking at the sexy woman pouring shots at the bar; I smirked and nodded, a drink right about now sounded good, but I was seriously going to have to find myself a sexy man to flirt with to get some back at Dean shortly – I contemplated just how many phone numbers I could get tonight, it was time to get back in the lead with our phone numbers competition.

Richie looked at Dean and shook his head. "Easy. Me and her, we got a little somethin'-somethin' lined up for later," he said to Dean, who smirked disbelievingly at the man.

"Yeah, right," he snickered, checking out the girl again.

"Stings, don't it?" Richie said. "All right. I got to hit the head, release the hostages. Be back in a few." Richie wandered off and Dean looked at me confused.

"No way he gets a girl like that. I mean, look at her. You could fit that ass on a nickel," Dean said, making his way up to the bar.

"You think so?" We turned to see Father Gil sitting at the bar next to us, looking around.

"Oh. Sorry, Padre," Dean said, looking a little sheepish.

"Knew you kids would find your way here. They all do," the Father said to us.

"No offence, but what are you doing here, Father?" Sam asked.

"Like it or not, you go where your flock is," Father Gil said, casting a concerned look around at the bar's patronage.

"Plus the clergy drinks for free," the bartender said, pouring him a drink with a grin.

"True," Father Gil said with a smile, "and a certain bartender owes me a confession."

"Not in this lifetime, Father," she said with a smile, taking a shot of tequila herself.

"I better see your butt on Sunday," Father Gil said, turning to stand up and look at Dean. "Nickel or no nickel." He looked back at the girl. "See you Casey."

"What can I get you guys?" Casey said to us, leaning on the bar.

"What's your speciality?" Dean asked with a grin.

"I make a mean Hurricane," she said without missing a beat.

"I guess we'll see about that," he said then glanced at me. "We'll take two."

Sam snickered and looked at us both. "You guys drink Hurricanes?"

Dean smirked and looked at me, I turned to Sam. "We do now," I said with a cheeky grin. Sam laughed and looked around the bar. His expression changed almost instantly and he grabbed Dean's arm.

"Hey," he said, and we all turned to see a man at the pool table brandishing a gun.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" The man playing pool exclaimed, taking a step back at the sight of the gun. We all moved quickly through the crowd for the man, but were too late. A gunshot went off and I saw the pool player fall to the ground before the shooter turned the gun up and pointed it under his chin.

Dean tackled him to the ground before he could pull the trigger and Sam pulled out a flask of holy water, splashing it on the guy. There was no reaction, he wasn't possessed.

"What are you doing?" The man said to us, confused. "He slept with my wife. That bastard slept with my wife!"

"Somebody call 911!" I called out to the crowd and Casey reached for the phone. I looked up at Trotter who was standing on the next level to the bar, watching the scene unfold with a cold, unreadable expression.

A short time later the bar was cleared of people, and the police were cuffing the man and leading him away.

"Too many cops here. I say we roll," Sam said anxiously beside us.

"Just be cool," Dean cautioned, leaning against the bar and watching the shooter as he was taken outside. "Poor jerk. Only thing possessing him was a sixer of Pabst."

"So what's the deal then? People in this town getting possessed or not?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it is just what it is – town full of scumbags," Dean said with a shrug. I was leaning against him, looking at my nails.

"Yeah, maybe," Sam said. I shivered at the sudden cold now there was a lack of body heat to keep one warm. Dean looked over and me and shrugged out of his leather jacket, draping it around my shoulders. I slipped my arms into it and smiled, sliding my arm around his waist.

A police officer came up to us with a smile. "You boys ready for your mug shots?" He asked, Dean and Sam shifted nervously. "The photographer's gonna be here in a few and take your picture for the local paper," he explained.

Dean softened and looked at the officer with relief. "Be an honour, officer. What a thrill." When he walked away, Dean and Sam exchanged a look.

"Yep, time to go," Sam said and we all stood.

"Wait a second. Wait a second," Dean said quietly, looking around.

"What?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Where's Richie?" Dean asked, I paused and looked around. The man simply hadn't come back from the toilet earlier, it was very unusual.

* * *

_**Trotter's Bar  
Next Morning**_

Dean was sitting at the table, a large burger in front of him, completely untouched as he looked at his phone again for the umpteenth time.

I thanked the bartender and took our beers in hand, returning to the table and putting them in the middle, sitting down to my own burger and taking a bite. Dean ignored both the burger and the beer, a concerned look on his face. I swallowed my bite and looked at him.

"You do realise there's red meat within striking distance, right?" I asked him, and he looked over at me with a sigh.

"How many times I got to tell Richie, he's gonna get himself in trouble?" Dean asked.

"Dean, you're assuming he's missing. I mean, maybe he just bailed," Sam said. I shook my head.

"He's a moron," I said, taking a sip of beer. "He's a sweet moron, but he's not a coward. I don't think he'd just bail."

Dean nodded his agreement. "Yeah, we got to go find him," he said.

Sam sighed and looked at us both. "All right. You guys do that, meanwhile I'm going to trail this Trotter guy."

"Yeah?" Dean asked as I took another bite of my burger.

"I don't know. Something about the way he looked at Beth last night," he said, glancing over at me. I raised my eyebrow.

"You saw that?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Maybe there is something going on here," he mused.

* * *

_**Trotter's Bar  
Later that night**_

We'd looked all over for Richie and now we were on our way back to find Sam. I dialled Sam to see whether he'd found anything new, and he answered the phone anxiously.

"_Beth," _he said quickly.

"Sammy, hey," I said.

"_Yeah. Hey. I can't talk right now," _he whispered.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"_Yeah, I'm fine. Just meet me at the bar in twenty minutes, okay?" _He hung up without waiting for an answer.

"Sam!" I said into the dead phone.

"What?" Dean asked, looking over at me.

I shrugged. "He said to meet up at the bar in twenty minutes."

Dean frowned and got that look about him that almost always meant he was plotting something dangerous.

"Okay, good idea, well I have a plan," Dean said. "But you ain't gonna like it." He looked at me with a grin, and I stared at him, sighing.

Five minutes later we were standing out the front of the bar.

"You know what, you're right, I don't like this plan Dean," I said to him, grasping the lapels of his jacket in front of me as I looked at his chest.

"Oh come on, what are you jealous?" He asked with a grin, grabbing me at the hips and pulling me in to him.

"Of course I'm jealous! The girl is hot, Dean. But that's not my point. It's dangerous, we don't know what happened to Richie, we don't know what we're dealing with here." I said, concerned.

"Exactly, but we're fairly certain it's a demon, so we need to act quickly before it jumps bodies and we lose track of it. Now she was the last one we know of who saw Richie alive." I sighed, he was right. I still didn't have to like it.

"Come on, I'll have you backing me up. Nothing is going to go wrong," Dean said, leaning in to kiss me, trailing his fingers along my chin. I moaned, and pulled back.

"Dammit I hate when you do that," I said with a smile. He chuckled and kissed me again on the forehead.

"Come on, let's do this," he said. I nodded.

* * *

_**Trotter's Bar**_

**Dean's POV**

I left Beth at the back of the room in a shady corner where she wouldn't be noticed easily, then made my way up to the bar. I took a seat and it wasn't long before a woman approached me, leaning against the bar and flirting shamelessly. She had on a tight pink top that showed off her rack just nicely.

"I got to tell you – every woman in this place – they want to eat you up," she said with a husky voice to me.

"Oh, anybody could have tackled that guy... and wrestled the gun away... prevented mass murder," I said to her with a grin.

The woman looked at me with a thinly veiled look of lust. "Here's what I'm gonna do. Normally, I charge $400 a night," she said. She leaned in to me with a grin. "Why don't we call it an even deuce and get the hell out of here?" She whispered in my ear.

I gave her an incredulous look, did I look like a man who _paid for sex? _"What do I look like?" I asked her with a frown. She stepped back, giving me an appraising look.

"What do I look like?" She asked, turning her back on me. "Cheapskate!" She tossed back at me before walking away. I smirked and shook my head.

Casey was tending bar and turned to me once I was alone. "Did I just see you strike out with a prostitute? How's that work?" She asked.

"Well I just told her I had a thing for the bartender, pretty easy," I said to her with a trademark Dean Winchester _I'm a sex god _smile.

"Who says the bartender's available?" Casey questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"That's a good question," I said, sitting back a little. "You got something going with some guy about yea tall, wears a sweat suit?" I asked, holding my hand in the air around Richie's height.

"Who?" Casey asked, non-committally.

"No. My mistake. What do you say you and me grab a drink after your shift?" I asked her, flashing her a smile.

"I say why wait... when we can go right now?" She said, I twitched my mouth slightly, now we were talking.

Casey grabbed her jacket and shrugged into it as we were leaving. I cast a look over at Beth who was watching us like a hawk, and winked at her as we left the bar. I was certain I saw her roll her eyes, even if she didn't actually do it.

* * *

_**House on the outside of town**_

**Dean's POV**

Casey took me back to her place, and led the way down some wide cement steps into a gothic looking basement. I glanced around at the interior, and raised an eyebrow at the dust and mildewed walls.

"Looks like the maid's day off," I commented. Casey stopped, glancing around and seeming surprised. I smirked. "Everything okay?" I asked her.

She turned and kissed me, lingering her mouth over mine. "Make yourself comfortable," she said, stepping away.

"Oh, I forgot to mention... Richie was a friend of mine," I said to her, she stopped walking, turning to look back at me. "When I realised I could track the GPS in his cell phone, I swung by earlier. Gave him a proper burial. It's better than rotting in some skank's basement."

She launched herself at me, but came up short, repelling backwards as if she'd hit an invisible wall. I crouched down in front of her, moving the rug to reveal the devil's trap Beth had painted underneath earlier.

"Whoops," I said. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Isn't that a buzz kill? Sorry, sister, but you're going back to where you came from."

"I don't think so," Casey said. I raised an eyebrow and pulled a book out of my jacket and flipped through the pages to find the exorcism I needed.

"Spiritus in mundus un glorum suarum umitite palatum iram domine," I started to read in Latin.

Casey closed her eyes and started to concentrate, suddenly all the pages from my book ripped free of the binding, flying around the room. I turned at the sound of a creaking groan and saw the entrance to the basement cave in. Casey started laughing and I shook my head at her.

"What are you laughing at, bitch? You're still trapped," I reminded her.

"So are you... bitch," she smirked.

_Damn, where the hell was Beth? She should have been down here by now._

I started to light some of the candles around, examining the rock fall that was now blocking the only way out.

"Lose something?" Casey asked, crossing her arms.

"All you demons have such smart mouths," I said, looking back at her.

"It's a gift," she said.

"Well, let's see if you're smiling when I send your ass back to Hell," I threatened her, giving her an amused look.

"Without your little exorcism book? Hey, go ahead," she said, calling my bluff.

I stood up, walking over to her. _No problem, I got this._

"Spiritus in mundus...Spritus..." I paused, _what came next?_

"Having a little trouble there, sport?" Casey taunted and I renewed my efforts. I was silently kicking myself for not paying more attention when Sam and Beth had been memorising the exorcism rites.

"Spiritus in mundus un glorum suarum umitite palatum..." I said, grimacing, I had no idea what I was saying, not really.

"Nice try, but I think you just ordered a pizza. I guess you should have paid more attention in Latin class," Casey said with a smirk.

"Hey, I don't know what you're smiling about," I said, walking over to the only part of the building where light was filtering through, a grate that had bars over the top of it. "You're not going anywhere," I pointed out.

"And, apparently, neither are you," Casey said.

"Yeah, but I got someone coming for me, and, uh... she did pay attention in class," I said proudly.

"Oh, right – Beth. Everyone says she's the brains of the outfit, more than just a pretty face," Casey said, tilting her head to the side.

"Everyone?" I asked, feeling I should get some credit at least for being the oldest.

"Sure. You Winchesters are famous. Not Lohan famous, but, you know..." Casey shrugged.

"Well, that's flattering. I'll be sure to let Beth know when she gets here," I said, starting to feel a little worried as to why she wasn't already here.

"_If _she shows up first," Casey said, and I stopped to look at her. "What? You thought I was flying solo?" The look on my face clearly told her I had. "You shouldn't underestimate Dean. It might be the death of you."

I stared at her with my narrowed eyes, suddenly not happy with my predicament.

"You can give me hard eyes all you want, but the fact remains, we just have to wait and see who shows up first – the cavalry or the Indians. And I have a feeling the cavalry might have had a welcoming party waiting for her back at the bar," Casey smirked.

I swallowed, _oh this wasn't good._

* * *

_**Trotter's Bar **_

**Beth's POV**

I got up to follow Dean and Casey once they had exited the bar, not hurrying because I didn't want to seem too eager. The truth was I was feeling sick to my stomach whenever I looked at her, I knew it was because we suspected her of being a demon, so I had my litany going on repeat inside my head.

The sickness passed as I headed toward the motorcycle I'd 'commandeered' for the evening. I jumped on, about to pull on my helmet when two sets of hands grabbed me from behind, pulling me from the bike as if I weighed nothing more than a bag of feathers. The nausea hit me again hard, and I fought the urge to vomit.

"Let go of me!" I cried out, struggling against their grips but unable to break free. I recognised the two men who had me as having been hanging around the bar. They grinned at me and blinked, their eyes turning black.

"What do you want?" I asked, stopping the struggle, it was useless and I was only going to exhaust myself. I needed to bide my time to figure out a way free.

"Oh, just letting your boyfriend get away with the girl, she doesn't want any disturbances while she's busy with him," said the one who seemed to be in charge, he was tall with a shaved head.

"Listen, Baldy, if she thinks she's got the upper hand on him, she's got another thing coming," I said with a smirk, hoping I sounded a lot more confident than I felt.

"We'll see," he responded, looking me up and down. "In the mean time, we get to have some fun with you." The demon holding on to me started to laugh and I felt sticky hot breath fan across my neck and I shuddered in revulsion. _Great, just great. _

My phone started ringing in my pocket and I resumed my struggle against them, trying to grab it. Baldy's hands roamed over my hips and down into my pocket, pulling the phone out.

"She's busy," he said into the phone, not even waiting for the caller to speak.

"Dean! Sam!" I yelled, not caring who was on the other end, I used the phone distraction to step on the insole of the man holding me, and he cried out in pain when I jerked my arms free, thrusting my elbow back and punching him in the groin. He doubled over and I ran down the alleyway, heading for people. I had to get away from them, and quick.

I rounded the corner and collided with a couple making out in the middle of the street.

"Sorry!" I muttered, moving around them. Suddenly their eyes turned black and the man grabbed at me, the girl turning her head to the side and smiling.

"Gotcha!" She said with a grin. I looked back to see the bodies that the demons had been inhabiting discarded on the ground in the alley. _Damn!_

"Come on sweetheart, we're not going to hurt you, unless you want us to. We're all about the love," said the new, much more attractive demon. She slid her hands around my waist and up my back. She leaned in to kiss me and I headbutted her, hard, hearing her nose crack from the impact. She reeled back and roared at me, slapping me across the face.

"Bitch!" She snapped, and grabbed me around the neck, pulling me close. "Just for that, I'm gonna make you watch while I use your body to do all kinds of unmentionables," she said with a chuckle. She bit my lower lip and used her tongue to force open my mouth.

There was a pressure, like gas trying to pass from her mouth into mine, but nothing further happened. She reeled back, looking at me, curious. A burning noise popped and sizzled between us and smoke poured up from under my shirt as the demon made contact with my rosary, the amulet to ward against demon possession attached to it.

The demon holding me spun me around and ripped open my shirt to reveal the amulet, he reached for it, but a charge of electricity zapped out to sting him on the hand.

"No demons allowed," I said with a grin, using the moment to start running again.

* * *

_**Trotter's Bar **_

**Sam's POV**

It had been over forty minutes since I'd told Dean and Beth to meet me at the bar. I was looking around anxiously, it wasn't like them not to show up when we'd made arrangements.

A pretty woman in a pink top was eyeing me off, it was making me feel very uncomfortable.

"You look kind of tense. You know, I know a sure fire way to relax," she said suggestively to me, sucking on a cocktail onion on a toothpick as she leaned on the bar.

I tried not to recoil at the idea and smiled. "Maybe later. Excuse me," I said, turning to the other section of the bar. The barman turned around to serve me.

"What can I get for you?" He asked.

"Um, you remember the guy I was with last night? We sat right here," I said, gesturing to the stool next to me.

The man grunted. "The big hero who jumped on Reggie," he commented.

"Yeah, yeah. The – the big hero. Right. Um, have you seen him around at all today? Or maybe my sister, the pretty girl that was with us?" He looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe. Depends," he said.

"Depends on what?" I asked. He simply raised another eyebrow at me. I shook my head, pulling some cash out of my pocket.

"Oh, my – does everyone around here have their hand out?" I asked, handing him a fifty dollar bill. The man simply smirked and tucked the money into his shirt pocket.

"He left with Casey about an hour ago," he said to me.

"What about the girl?" I asked, wondering why Beth wouldn't have been with Dean.

"Didn't see her," he commented with a shrug. I frowned, _not like her at all._

"Any idea where they went?" I asked, might as well start looking for Dean then.

"Her place... for Bible study," the barman said with a smirk. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"You got an address?" I asked.

He looked at me with an expression of amusement. "What's wrong with you? You think I'm gonna give you a co-worker's address just so you can go over there and get your freaky peeping-tom rocks off?" He asked. I sighed and pulled another fifty dollar bill out of my pocket, handing it over. The barman took it quickly.

"Corner of Piermont and Clinton. Have fun," he said without even batting an eyelid.

* * *

_**Basement**_

**Dean's POV**

I rolled an old wine barrel under the barred grate and climbed up on it, pulling out my phone and waving it up near the entry, trying to get a signal.

"Why don't you relax?" Casey said, now reclining back on the ground, looking comfortable in her containment.

"Why don't you kiss my ass," I said back to her.

"Why, Dean, you're a poet. I had no idea. Look, we won't have any effect on the outcome of this. We might as well be civil," she said.

I gave up on the signal and grasped at the bars instead, pulling on them and seeing if they'd budge.

"Civil, huh?" I grunted. "Killing Richie – that was civil? The guy was harmless," I said to her.

"That knife he pulled on me didn't look so harmless," Casey said.

"A knife wouldn't hurt you," I said, looking up out the window again.

"No, but it would damage this body and Casey has such a fine body, I wouldn't want to see it ripped," she said to me, looking herself over.

I jumped down off the barrel, laughing. "A demon with a heart. Well, you know, there's a bunch of dead people in town that might disagree with you."

"Hey, I didn't pull any triggers," Casey said, offended.

"Yeah? You did something," I said sceptically.

"You want to know what I did – what I really did? I had lunch," she said, staring up at me. I looked back at her, frowning.

"Lunch?" I asked.

"Me and Trotter. He had a cheeseburger, I had a salad, and I just pointed out the money that could be made with a few businesses that cater to harmless vice. So Trotter built it, and man, did they come," she said with a grin. "Supposedly god-fearing folk, waist-deep in booze, sex, gambling. I barely lifted a finger."

I took a couple of steps toward her, barely believing my ears. _Surely it couldn't be as simple as that?  
_

"That's it?" I asked.

"You don't get it. All you got to do is nudge humans in the right direction. Some whiskey here, a hooker there, and they'll walk right into Hell with big, fat smiles on their faces. Your kind is corrupt, Dean. Weak. Our will's stronger. That's why we'll win," she finished with a sigh.

"And that's how it ends?" I asked her.

"No, that's how it begins," she answered, a smile on her face.

"So, demons take over. I thought the meek shall inherit the earth?" I asked, sitting down on the barrel.

"Oh, according to your Bible. It's only a book Dean," Casey said.

"Not everyone would agree," I argued, thinking of Beth in particular.

"Because it's God's book? Do you believe in God, Dean? I'd be surprised if you did," she asked me, a curious look on her face.

"I don't know," I said, thinking about it. I thought about Beth and Sam, their ridiculous faith in something greater than themselves. "I'd like to," I said honestly.

"Well, I don't see how you and your god have done such a bang-up job. War, genocide – it's only getting worse. This past century, you people racked up a body count that amazed even us," she said. "It's our turn now, and we're gonna do it right this time."

A noise sounded from above us, and I jumped, looking up toward the grate.

"Don't be hopeful, Dean. You're not delivered. It's only the wind," Casey said with a smirk.

* * *

_**Main Street, Elizabethville**_

**Beth's POV**

I'd been running flat out for a few minutes. I knew I couldn't keep it up. Rounding a corner I saw a young girl on a mobile phone, and without slowly down I grabbed it from her hand, ignoring her cries of complaint as ran on. "She'll call you back!" I said, hanging up the phone.

Dialling and running isn't easy, but I managed, slowing down to a jog as I looked around me. I was in a deserted street, no streetlight, and it had an eerie feel to it. I had to find transportation and get to Dean before those demons caught up with me.

"_Hello?" _Sam's voice came over the phone.

"Sammy! Thank God! Where are you?" I said into the phone, testing the handles on a few cars that I passed. One of them was open, so I stopped, getting in behind the wheel and looking around for a key.

"_Beth?! Where are you?!" _Sam asked in response and I rolled my eyes. We could be here all night with this discussion.

"On the run from demons. Dean is with Casey, we have to get to him." I said.

"_Yeah, I've just been at her place, they weren't there," _Sam said, "_Where are you?" _he said.

"I'm getting a car, but listen..." My instructions on how to find Dean got interrupted as a big burly man grabbed me out of the car, smashing the phone against the brick wall of the shop nearby. I found myself hoisted up in the air by the throat, spots forming in front of my eyes as his rage overspilled.

"Let her go," a voice sounded from behind us and if I could have, I would have sighed in relief, recognising it anywhere. The male demon turned around to glare at the intruder.

"Make me," he said and I smirked, looking over at dear old Bobby, standing there, Colt in hand.

"Oh, I can do better than that," Bobby said with a grin, cocking the Colt and pointing it at the demon. The demon paused, realising what it was Bobby was holding, and it looked to me like he turned a shade paler.

"What is that?" The second demon with him asked. I found myself suddenly dropped to the ground, gasping for breath as the demon exited his body, a cloud of black smoke moving up and away from us, demon number two followed suit, and I was left sitting on the ground between a very confused couple of men, looking over at Bobby, who was putting the gun into his jacket.

"Are you ok?" He asked, and I nodded as he helped me to my feet. I felt a little shaky, but otherwise unharmed.

"We have to hurry, Dean is in trouble," I said. "Where's your car?"

Bobby led me toward where he'd parked and we got in, I knew where to find Dean, I just hoped we weren't too late if Casey knew he was on to her.

* * *

_**Casey's House  
(Ten Minutes Earlier)**_

**Sam's POV**

I was starting to feel the tell-tale signs of panic by the time I found the house according to the address the barman had given me. All my calls to Beth and Dean went through to voice-mail. I didn't know where to start looking for Beth so I had to trust that she could handle things herself, while I found Dean – at least I had a lead on him. It was dark and quiet, no one seemed to be home. The door was open, so I let myself in, walking quietly through the house.

"Dean?" I called out, hoping I'd hear him or he'd come around the corner at any moment. Nothing. There was nobody home.

I pulled out my phone and called Beth back again, waiting as the phone rang and rang, going to voice-mail. I frowned, it wasn't like her to not answer her phone, unless she was physically unable to.

I took one more look around the house, there was a photo of Casey and a guy in a frame on a table, I picked it up to look and then noticed something that made me freeze. A yellow powder was on the table behind where the frame had rested. I reached down and ran a finger through it, raising it to my nose and grimacing.

"Sulphur..." I murmured to myself.

I had to get some back up here, and now.

Ten minutes later I was back at Trotter's bar, calling Bobby, his phone went to voice-mail too, _where the hell was everyone?_

"Bobby, it's Sam. We got a big problem. I found some sulphur, and now I can't find Dean or Beth. Call me as soon as you get this," I said, hanging up and turning to the barman.

"Hey, excuse me. They weren't there," I said to him. He smirked at me and shook his head.

"I guess you got to catch your jollies another night. Here," he said, starting to pour a shot of whiskey in front of me. "Why don't you have a drink and relax?"

I sighed in frustration. "I don't want to relax! What is it with the people in this town?" I asked.

"Suit yourself – princess," the barman said to me with a shrug, downing the shot himself.

I turned around, looking for a familiar face, wondering if perhaps Beth would just walk up to me at any moment, Dean in tow.

My phone suddenly rang, I looked at the number and didn't recognise it, answering it just the same.

"Hello?" I said,

"_Sammy! Thank God! Where are you?"_ Beth said on the other end of the phone. She was breathless and talking quickly.

"Beth?! Where are you?!" I asked in response

"_On the run from demons. Dean is with Casey, we have to get to him."_ She said.

"Yeah, I've just been at her place, they weren't there," I said, "Where are you?"

"_I'm getting a car, but listen..." _She never got any further, suddenly the line went dead and I stared at my phone. That didn't sound good, and there was nothing I could do to help her, I had no idea where she was. I glanced around the bar urgently, wondering what my next move was. Father Gil was sitting in a booth, looking over his 'flock', and I wondered, maybe I could get some help after all.

"Father," I said, coming up to the man.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Um... can I talk to you for a sec?" I asked.

* * *

_**Basement**_

**Dean's POV**

"You're piling it pretty high there, sweetheart. I'm not sure I'm buying," I responded to Casey's claim that the demons were going to take over the world. I'd started pacing the room again, restless.

"Why would I lie?" She asked, standing up.

"Demons lie," I said, it didn't get much clearer than that.

"Some do, some are true believers," Casey said, looking at me.

"Believers in what?" I asked. I found it hard to believe that demons had faith in anything, they were nothing more than random chaos, looking to do harm wherever they could. What could they possibly need with belief in something greater than themselves?

"You think humans have an exclusive on a higher power?" She said, watching me with her dark eyes.

"You have a god?" I asked, looking at her sceptically.

"Sure. His name's Lucifer," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You mean the Devil?" I asked.

"Your word, not ours," she said, narrowing her eyes at me, obviously displeased with the term. "Lucifer actually means 'light bringer'. Look it up. Once he was the most beautiful of all God's angels, but God demanded that he bow down before man, and when he refused, God banished him." She smirked, shaking her head. "Tell me Dean. How do you like bowing before lesser creatures?"

I was still trying to get my head around the whole devil thing. "Lucifer's really real?" I asked.

"Well, no one's actually seen him, but they say that he made us into what we are, and they say that he'll return," Casey said.

"Oh, yeah?" I asked with a chuckle. "And, uh, you believe that?"

"I've got faith," Casey said. I shook my head, she was starting to sound like Beth. "So you see? Is our kind really all that different than yours?" She asked.

"Well, except that, uh, demons are evil," I pointed out to her.

"...and humans are such a lovable bunch," she said, rolling her eyes. "Dick Cheney," she said.

"He one of yours?" I asked.

"Not yet," she answered. "Let's just say he's got a parking spot reserved for him downstairs."

_Downstairs. _That got me thinking. I moved around the devil's trap, coming to lean against a stone pillar. "Hey, speaking of downstairs... what's it like down there?"

"What, Hell?" She asked.

"Yeah," I said with a nod, trying to appear casual, but my heart sped up just thinking about it.

She looked curiously at me. "That's right. You booked a one-way ticket with that deal. You're not gonna like it, Dean. And, um, judging from the trouble you've caused, I don't think you'll be getting the presidential suite." She looked at me with what seemed like sympathy in her eyes. "No, it's a pit of despair. Why do you think we want to come here?"

I swallowed, I don't know what I'd expected to hear, but the reality of my situation was starting to hit home with me, and that despair she was talking about, it was already sitting heavily on my heart.

* * *

_**Trotter's Bar**_

**Sam's POV**

Father Gil was entertaining my questions with a bemused look.

"So, the – the bartender the other night, Casey, you know her pretty well?" I asked him.

He nodded with a smile. "Since she was in pigtails," he answered.

"Well, um, she and my brother, they, uh, they left tonight. Together." I said to him, not sure how to broach this subject.

"Well, not that I approve, but they are consenting adults," Father Gil said to me.

"Right," I said, not sure how to continue.

"I'm sorry. You said 'brother'. I thought you were insurance investigators?" He asked me, and I almost cursed.

"Right, right. Well, we are. Um, it's like a family business you know?" I said dismissively. "Anyways, um, so I went to Casey's apartment, and they weren't there. I just have this feeling that they – that they might be in trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" The Father asked.

"Just trouble. Please, Father, I need your help. Is there anything you could tell me about Casey – any place she'd go, maybe?" I asked. I tried to put Beth's current whereabouts out of my mind. There was nothing I could do for her if I didn't know where she was. Chances are, if she was okay, she was headed to wherever Dean was, if she knew.

"Yes, there is a place," Father Gil said to me, starting to stand. "Let me get my jacket."

"No, wait, Father. I can do this by myself," I said, standing with him.

"Son, if Casey's really in trouble, then there's nothing to talk about," the Father said, pulling on his jacket. "Shall we go?" I didn't see that I had much choice, so I nodded, and let him lead the way out of the bar.

* * *

_**Basement**_

**Dean's POV**

We'd been down here for so long I'd started to lose track of time. I didn't like sitting around waiting for some external force to call the shots on my life. I wanted to take action, mould the future for myself, but here I was, sitting with a demon, waiting.

"Kind of funny, don't you think?" Casey asked. "You and me, sitting here like a couple of regular folk?"

"It's hilarious," I said sarcastically. "You know – in that apocalyptic sort of way."

"You're all right, Dean," she said to me. "The others don't describe you that way. But, you know, you're – you're likeable."

I smirked. "A demon likes me. Sorry, I don't know how to respond to that," I said, shaking my head.

"You could say thanks. That deal you made to save Beth – a lot of others would mock you for it, think it was weak or stupid. I don't. I think she's lucky to have someone who loves her that much." Casey smiled, a slightly nostalgic look to her face.

I looked at her, thinking about the deal, and how we'd all come to this point. I don't know how lucky Beth was really, seemed we'd done nothing except mess up her life since the day we'd entered it.

"I'm not sure Beth would agree with you there," I said with a half-smile. "But, I wasn't about to let her go to Hell for saving Sam."

"Still, a year only. You're not scared?" She asked.

"Nah," I said, shaking my head, hoping I appeared more laissez-faire that I felt. Truth be told it was starting to terrify me, but I had to be strong, this was my lot, and I'd made my bed – I'd eventually have to lie in, regardless of how I felt.

"Not even a little?" She asked.

"Of course not," I said, all bravado.

* * *

_**Bobby's Car**_

**Beth's POV**

"I don't know where he was, do you have a phone?" I asked Bobby, talking about Sam, as he steered us toward where Dean and I had found Richie's dead body earlier. It had to be where Casey was taking Dean, there wasn't a moment to lose.

Bobby handed me his phone and I dialled Sam from memory, waiting as the phone rang, and rang. Sam finally answered, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sam! The house you need to go to is 54 Hillcrest Road, they'll be in the basement," I said quickly, just in case we got disconnected again.

"_Yeah, we're on our way, we're almost there," _Sam said.

"Wait, what do you mean, 'we'? Who are you with?" I asked, frowning over at Bobby.

"_Father Gil," _Sam answered. "_I'll meet you there, okay?" _He didn't wait for me to answer, hanging up on the spot.

"He's on his way there with the priest from yesterday," I said to Bobby. I felt sick to my stomach, and it wasn't car sick. "I have a bad feeling about this," I said to the older man.

Bobby grunted, and nodded, kicking the car into a higher gear and rocketing us faster down the road, we were minutes away, hopefully it would be enough.

* * *

_**54 Hillcrest Road**_

**Sam's POV**

I hung up from Beth, her concerned voice echoing through my head.

"Sorry about that, our, uh, sister... she's been out looking for Dean too," I said weakly. Father Gil looked impressed.

"Wow, it really is a family business," he said.

"You have no idea," I muttered, shaking my head.

"So, insurance investigating. You enjoy the work?" Father Gil asked.

"Yeah. I … like being able to help people." I said.

"Ever think about doing anything else?" He asked randomly, I found it to be an odd question.

"Like what?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Mmm, anything. You seem like a pretty smart kid. Somehow I see you out in front of the pack. You could do some great things," he said with a smile.

I shrugged, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the praise. "I don't know. I like doing what I'm doing, I guess."

"Well, it's your life. Does, um... Dean?" Father Gil asked, faltering on the name.

"Yeah, Dean," I confirmed with a nod.

"Does he find trouble often?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Dean finds his fair share," I said with a chuckle.

"And what about your sister?" He asked, looking over at me. I smiled and shrugged, chuckling again as I looked down at my hands.

"Oh, usually she's in as deep as he is, probably why she's freaking out now," I answered, smiling slightly. Poor Beth, she didn't like being separated from Dean at the best of times, she especially didn't like it now he was hot on Hell's hit list and holding a one-way ticket to fire and brimstone.

"Well, it's a good thing they have you – their keeper," he said with a smile.

I smirked and shook my head slightly. If only that were true. They'd spent so long being my keepers, looking after me, that I was afraid they didn't know how to do anything else.

* * *

_**Basement**_

**Dean's POV**

Casey was lying on the floor, stretching out before me. I was staring toward her, but I wasn't really seeing her.

"Why Dean, if I didn't know better, I'd say that was lust in your eyes," she said, rolling on to her side and propping her head up on her hand. "Well, it would be one way to spend the time, but I don't think you'd respect me in the morning."

I grinned at her, shaking my head. "That's okay. I mean, hey, I barely respect you now," I answered, raising my eyebrow at her. She chuckled, flashing a friendly smile at me.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" I asked, deciding I might as well go for broke.

"I'm an open book," she said.

"So, the Gate opened. The Demon Army was let out. What now, huh? I'm not seeing a big, honking plan here." I said.

"Honestly, there was a plan. Azazel was a tyrant, but he held us all together," she answered, sitting up and crossing her legs.

"Azazel?" I queried.

"You think his brothers just called him 'Yellow Eyes'? He had a name. After you did him in, it all fell apart," she said.

"Sorry about that," I said insincerely. "So what? No chain of command?"

"There was. It was Sam. Sam was supposed to be the grand pooh-bah and lead the big army, but he hasn't exactly stepped up to the plate, has he?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

"Thank God for that," I said with a smirk.

She laughed. "Again with God. You think this is a good thing? Now you've got chaos, a war without a front, hundreds of demons all jockeying for power, all fighting for the crown. Most of them gunning for your brother." She said, her face turning serious. "For the record, I was ready to follow Sam."

* * *

_**Hillcrest Road**_

**Sam's POV **

"Dean?!" I yelled as soon as we arrived, I knocked on the door but there was no response. "Check that way," I said to Father Gil and he nodded, going in the opposite direction.

"Dean!" I called out again, and then I heard him. It was faint, but definitely Dean.

"Sam!" I followed the sound of his voice to a grate leading down to the basement.

"Dean?" I said, waiting to hear if I was going in the right direction.

"Sammy, down here! The basement caved in!" Dean's voice carried up from down under the house, I looked down the grate and could just make him out.

"Dean, hold on, okay? We're coming," I said to him.

"Who's we? Is Beth with you?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"No, I'm here with the father," I said.

Dean frowned, looking back at someone else in the basement, and then up at me again. "Sammy, be careful," he warned. I frowned at him, and then got up, reaching for the holy water in my pocket as I went back around the side of the house.

Father Gil was standing in front of me, his eyes were now black as tar pits. He moved toward me and a shot fired, missing him and breaking a statue behind him. I turned around to see Bobby standing there with the Colt. Father Gil reached out a hand and using his own powers, flung Bobby to the ground several yards away. I flinched, and before I could even think about getting the lid off the flask, I felt myself lifted up and thrown against the windscreen of the Impala, smashing it.

* * *

_**Hillcrest Avenue**_

**Beth's POV**

I watched as the Father flung both Bobby and Sam through the air, cringing at the sound of the windscreen breaking on the Impala.

Pulling my own flask of holy water out of my jacket pocket, I stopped long enough to see that they were both okay before rushing after the Father. I had to get to Dean.

The demon smashed his way down to the basement from inside the house, and I followed in his wake.

"Stop!" I heard Casey call out and I rounded the corner to see her point to the devil's trap she was caught in before the Father stepped in to it as well. The Father paused, then knelt down to smash the floor, cracking the trap and releasing the power. Once free, Casey reached out and the Father grabbed her in an impassioned kiss.

Dean struggled to his feet after having been flung across the room, and shook his head.

"You two?" He asked, pointing at them.

The Father turned to him. "For centuries. We've been to Hell and back, literally."

"Leave him be," Casey said and I stepped into the room unnoticed, opening my flask of holy water. I just had to buy some time for someone to get down here with the Colt. I cursed myself for not waiting.

Father Gil grabbed Dean by the throat and lifted him up in the air.

"Don't kill him. Let's just go," Casey said to him. "Please."

"Hey!" I called out to the demons, advancing into the room. Father Gil turned to face me and I sprayed the holy water in his face, he dropped Dean and turned to face me, reaching out and flinging me across the room into a wall. Sharp pain ran up my arm and shoulder where I hit, and I groaned.

A shot fired and I looked up to see Sam had appeared with the Colt, killing the Father, a flash of red light running over his body. Sam pointed the gun at Casey.

"Sam, wait!" Dean called out. Sam ignored him, pulling the trigger. His face cold and impassive as he stood there, Colt in hand, looking at the dead people before him.

Dean was instantly at my side, helping me up.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly as he checked me over with his hands and eyes. I nodded, still staring at Sam. Dean looked back at him too, and then met my gaze, a worried look in his eyes. Pulling me into his arms for a tight hug, Dean turned to look down at the bodies of the Father and Casey lying dead in the devil's trap.

"Where the hell did you get the Colt from? Since when does it work?" Dean asked, confused by what had just happened.

I sighed, leaning in to his body warmth, my head against his chest. "I'll explain everything once we get out of here," I murmured, just glad to have him back safe and sound.

* * *

_**Main Street, Elizabethville  
The Next Morning**_

**Beth's POV**

Dean and I were walking down the street with Bobby, looking around at the town which looked like it was still in the throes of Mardi Gras.

"Well, what do you think, Bobby?" Dean asked, his hand resting casually around my waist as we crossed the street, making our way back toward the garage where the Impala's windscreen was getting repaired. "What we did here, you think it made a difference?" He asked, gesturing to all the half-clad women walking around.

"Two less demons to worry about. That's not nothing," Bobby said, all practicality.

"But Trotter's still alive," Dean said.

"Humans ain't our job," Bobby said.

"Yeah, but you think anything's really gonna change? Maybe these people really do just want to destroy themselves. Maybe it is a losing battle," Dean said. He sounded less hopeful than he had a few days ago, tired and jaded.

"Is that you or the demon girl talking?" I asked softly, looking up at him.

"Oh, it's me. Demon is dead, and so is that hot girl it was possessing," he said, looking down at me. I smirked, rolling my eyes at the hot girl comment.

"Well, had to be done," Bobby said. "Sam was saving your lives."

"Yeah, but you didn't see it Bobby. It was cold," Dean said, looking over at the older man. "Bobby?" He stopped walking, and Bobby turned to face us both.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Back in Wyoming, uh, there was this moment. Yellow-Eyes said something to us," he looked down at me and I nodded. I'd been wondering the same thing since seeing Sam take out the demons.

"What did he say?" Bobby asked, curious.

"That maybe when Sam came back from wherever, that... maybe he came back different," Dean said, squinting against the sun, and shifting uncomfortably with the idea.

"Different how?" Bobby queried the both of us.

"I don't know," Dean answered. "Whatever it was, it didn't sound good."

"Do you think something is wrong with our brother, Bobby?" I asked the man, and he looked at me; he thought about it a moment and then shrugged.

"No," he answered, shaking his head. "Demons lie. I'm sure Sam's okay."

"Yeah," Dean said, less convincingly. "Yeah me too," he added, nodding. I felt a bit more sceptical about it, but I had to believe that he was all right. I had to believe that everything we were going through wasn't in vain.

"Come on, let's get you lot back home," Bobby said, starting to walk away again. "You left my house a right mess!"

I smiled at the grumpy old man and Dean laughed, pulling me with him as he followed Bobby toward the garage.

My rosary swung around as we walked and Dean reached out to take a hold of the amulet attached to it. We stopped walking again, and he looked down at me.

"You know a stronger demon might have been able to yank this off you," he said quietly. "There's a whole lot we didn't realise about these things that we're starting to find out now."

"Well what do you suggest Dean? We need to wear them," I said, running my hand down his chest and tracing the amulet he was wearing through his t-shirt.

Dean looked around us, thinking. Then he got a cheeky grin on his face, his eyes alighting on a shop across the road. Hazel eyes twinkled as he looked at me. "I got an idea," he grinned, and I turned to look in the direction he was facing.

"Hmm," I said thoughtfully, grinning back at him. "Let's get Sam," I said with a raised eyebrow. This was going to be fun.

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

**Sam's POV**

I was packing my things up when Ruby walked through the door.

"Leaving so soon? We haven't even had a chance to celebrate," she said to me.

I turned and looked at her, suspicious of the fact that she'd just shown up in South Dakota and helped Bobby to fix the Colt. _Just what was her endgame?_

"Yeah, well, you can celebrate without me," I said to her, zipping up my bag.

"You're not gonna get all pouty on me, are you? Come on! You killed two demons today," she said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Yeah, well, maybe you don't care, but I killed two humans, too." I pointed out to her, and it had been weighing on my mind.

"Sam, you know what happens when demons piggyback humans. They leave them road hard and put-up wet. Chances are those two would have died a slow, sticky death. You probably did them a favour," Ruby said, sitting down on the bed opposite me.

"Did them a favour? You're a cold bitch, you know that?" I asked, turning around to pick up the Colt off the bed.

"Yeah, and this cold bitch has saved your ass a couple of times now. Some respect might be nice. Especially if you want me to help you out with Dean and his little problem."

"You know what?" I asked, turning to face her. "You keep dangling that, but last I checked, Dean's still going to Hell," I said a little angrily.

"Everything in its own time, Sam. There's a quid pro quo here. We're in a war," Ruby said to me.

"Right, but for some reason you're fighting on our team. Now, tell me, why is that again?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Go screw yourself. That's why. I don't have to justify my actions to you, Sam," she retorted. "If you don't want my help, fine, then give me the gun and I'll pass it on to someone who will use it." She stood up to face me and I pointed the gun point blank at her chest.

"Maybe I'll just use it on you," I said to her, eyes narrowed.

"Go ahead," she dared, "if that makes you happy. It's not gonna do much for Dean, though." We both paused a moment. "So, what's it gonna be?"

I thought about it, realising that we didn't have a lot of options right now, and unfortunately for us this bitch seemed to be the best one we had at the moment. I sighed, and lowered the gun, glaring at her.

"That's my boy," Ruby smirked. "This won't be easy, Sam. You're gonna have to do things that go against that gentle nature of yours. There'll be collateral damage... but it has to be done."

"Well, I don't have to like it," I said to her.

"No. You wouldn't be Sam if you did. On the bright side, I'll be there with you. That little fallen angel on your shoulder."

* * *

_**Tattoo Parlour**_

**Dean's POV**

"You guys come up with the strangest ideas sometimes," Sam said to me as I wandered the interior of the tattoo parlour, looking at all the different designs we could choose from.

Beth was in a massage-like chair, leaning forward, her arms draped across the back as she took in a few deep breaths. She'd wanted to go first, and was now half way through getting her ink. I walked around and looked at the pentacle half-formed at the back of her neck.

"You know, you could have got it on your chest like Sam and I are," I said to her, sitting on the chair in front of her and looking into her brown eyes.

"And ruin this beautiful body with that ugly thing?" She asked with a chuckle. "Bad enough I had these damn bullet wound scars," she added. I chuckled at leaned in to kiss her.

"What scars?" I asked, smiling. I never even noticed them.

"You're blind," she laughed, and shook her head, grimacing a little against the pain of the needle as the tattoo artist worked.

"So you lot getting the same thing, is it some kind of club you're in?" He asked, looking up at us like we were the oddest collection of white bread people he'd seen in a while.

"You might say that," I said to him, not elaborating further. He nodded and went back to work.

A few hours later and we were all sporting matching tattoos. Beth's on the back of her neck, Sam and I had ours on our left pecs, almost over our hearts. Beth grimaced, watching me with a suggestive look while pulled my shirt back on.

"You should have put yours at your neck too," she complained. "Now I have to look at that ugly thing every day." I laughed and pulled her in close.

"I'm sure I can do something to distract you from it," I said, kissing her with a hunger that was building inside of me again.

I pulled back and looked at her, quiet, calm, somehow holding it all together even though I was sure she was falling apart. 302 days to go. I sighed. 302 days and not a day more. I had to start making each one of them count.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter is: _Fighter _by Gym Class Heroes

* * *

I couldn't get my inspiration happening for the short piece, this ended up coming out instead. So enjoy :D I'm feeling a little uninspired at the moment, and I'm trying not to have to take a break in order to get it back, I'll just keep plugging away. I hope I managed to do this one justice :) Did you like the tattoo moment? They had to get them sometime I figured, and canon never covered exactly when, so I'm saying it was now!

* * *

I might tackle _Dead In The Water _next, which is a flashback to early Dean & Beth relationship, it's Beth's POV of EarthhAngel's most recent chapter to her story _How To Save A Life _titled Dead In The Water – Holy Water.

Or I might do one I've been thinking of for a while, which ties into them having found the storage unit, and Beth stumbles across an old journal of John's from when she first joined them, and maybe tell that story :)

Or I might just go on to the next episode. I don't know yet! haha

* * *

Find us also on face book .com(/)Dean-Beth-Supernatural-Fanfic

* * *

Please leave a review, it only gets me motivated even more! :D And you know I love it.

P.S. I generally try to respond to all the reviews (unless I'm short on time), but if you post as a guest, there's no way I can reply - I'm not replying in A/N anymore to anon posts. It's not hard to get a hotmail address and sign up to leave a review if you want a personal reply :) Hope you all understand.


	7. Hot Nights in Tampa (flashback)

**A/N: ** Every wonder why that waitress in Tampa was the dumbest thing Dean and Beth have ever done? You're about to find out why!

* * *

_Oooh I get so high  
When I'm around you baby  
I can touch the sky  
You make my temperature rise  
You're makin' me high_

_Can't get my mind off you_  
_I think I might be obsessed_  
_The very thought of you_  
_Makes me want to get undressed_  
_I wanna be with you_  
_In spite of that my heart says_  
_I guess I want you too bad  
_  
_All I want is_  
_Moonlights, with you there inside me_  
_All night, doin' it again and again_  
_You know I want you so bad_  
_Baby, baby, baby, baby_

* * *

**HOT NIGHTS IN TAMPA  
(approximately 4 years ago - 9 months into their relationship)**

* * *

_**Tampa, Florida**_

"_Come to Miami! I'll show you around the town, you'll love it!" _Jefferson's invitation was quickly accepted when John announced he was taking off for a week or more to visit with Cole. Dean and I had nothing else on, so we'd jumped in the Impala for a much needed vacation. We were currently half way there, and had decided to stop over in Tampa when we saw a busy bar full of happy party-goers.

"Well this looks like fun," Dean commented, grinning at all the scantily clad women standing around. There was a crowd over spilling into the street and I nodded.

"I feel like dancing, you are going to dance with me right?" I asked with a cheeky grin, leaning over to kiss him.

"Hmmm, I'll think about it," he teased and then inched the Impala past the bar and down the road a bit, looking for somewhere we could stay.

An hour later we had a motel room within walking distance to the bar, we'd gone all out and gotten a spacious suite and I was admiring the view we had of Hillsborough River. Dean was walking around the room in nothing more than a pair of boxer shorts, and he came over to nuzzle the back of my neck.

"Hey... want to test out the bed?" He asked, his hands sliding around my waist and coming up to gently massage my breasts. I groaned, leaning back in to him.

"Yes... I really, really do, but I'm starving!" I said, turning to face him, draping my arms around his neck so I could look him in the eyes.

"Awww come on, it's been _weeks, _I swear Dad gets his jollies off just tormenting us. I never thought I'd see the day I was thankful for Cole and him needing some time together." Dean complained. He was right, it had been a long, long fortnight where we'd been hunting a banshee in West Virginia – and frankly it had just been safer to share a room with John, not that we separated very often. But in this case, we didn't get the option to either, which seemed to make it ten times worse.

Dean pulled me in to his body, trailing his lips along my jawline and up to my lips, slipping his tongue in to circle mine in slow, languishing strokes that made my knees weak. I pulled away after a few moments with a protesting moan, just as my stomach started to rumble.

"Come on, don't do this to me!" I said, my hands running along his hard, bare chest. He smirked and started to pull me in to him again. I pushed back at him and tossed him a cheeky grin.

"Hmmm, maybe you can use those dance moves, which I know you have by the way, to get me in the mood," I teased, moving across the room to my bag, and digging around for my pink top which I'd bought a few months back on a whim. It would be perfect for going out tonight.

When Dean didn't move, I looked over at him, he was plying me with a look that would normally have me under the sheets with him in five minutes. But I wasn't giving in to him this time. I pulled a navy blue shirt out of his bag moved back to him.

Grinning, I placed the shirt around his waist, pulling it up and sliding his arms into the sleeves as I went, he sighed at me playfully. "This is supposed to be going the other way..." he said and I giggled.

"Mmmm, you know there's something kind of sexy about dressing you though," I said with a raised eyebrow, pulling the shirt up over his shoulders and starting to button up the shirt.

"You need pants," I pointed out, and stepped away again.

"Okay, fine, but you know I'm not going to be held responsible if I suddenly can't control myself out in public and you find yourself in a compromising position over the dinner table, or worse..." Dean said, I chuckled, and tossed him a pair of jeans.

"Deal," I said with a smirk. While he was busy getting into his jeans, I changed into a pink spaghetti strap top which left very little to the imagination. I ditched the bra, and Dean raised his eyebrows in appreciation, rolling up his sleeves to the elbow. Now ready to go out, I started to pull on a jacket and Dean growled.

"Don't add, my god, what are you a nun?" He complained, "It's not cold outside!" I shrugged and tossed the jacket back on the bed.

"Okay, but you have to give me your shirt if I get cold," I bargained, he grinned and nodded at that ultimatum.

"Ready?" He asked, going to stand by the door. I ran my fingers through my hair a couple of times, tousling it up, it looked wind-swept, good enough.

* * *

Dinner was at the hotel bistro, and I felt a little under-dressed, this was a pretty up-scale area, people were dressed to kill. Dean stared at the menu a while before going the safe route of ordering a steak. I decided to try the calamari, though Dean suggested I go the oysters as they were an aphrodisiac. He didn't exactly need those to get me in the mood, just looking at him was doing a good enough job.

Finally, with our bellies full, and a better mood all round, we hit the bar for a few drinks. It was crowded, but it seemed like some of the people had actually dissipated, moving on to new areas in Tampa. I pushed my way through the crowd, Dean holding one hand so we wouldn't get separated and bringing up the rear.

I reached the bar and leaned over it to get the bartender's attention. "What'll it be sweetheart?" He asked, flashing me a bright white smile.

"Hmmmm, what do you recommend?" I asked, smiling back at him. I could feel Dean pressed in against me from behind and it was making me feel incredibly horny.

"How about a little Sex on the Beach?" He asked with a wink, I raised an eyebrow and looked back at Dean who was checking out some girl who was nearly falling out of her halter top.

"Marcus, can't you see the beach is the furthest thing from her mind?" A woman said, coming up next to me carrying a drinks tray. "Give the girl a couple of _Sex on the Brain _cocktails, that's where her mind is at." I laughed, and nodded at her. Dean grinned and held out his hand to the attractive woman. She was a little taller than me with long straight blonde hair, striking blue eyes, and a friendly smile.

"Hey, nice call, I'm Dean, this is Beth," he said, and she took his hand.

"Olivia," she said with a smile, giving us both the once-over. "What brings you to Tampa?"

"Who says we're not from here?" Dean asked with a dazzling smile.

"Honey you don't look like you're from around here, besides, if I'd seen you two around, I'd remember," she smiled.

"We're just passing through on our way to a friend's," I said, slipping my arm around Dean and looking back at the woman.

"Awesome, well you'll like it here, get a few of those cocktails into you and hit the dance floor, the DJ is one of the best in town," she said, placing a few more drinks on her tray.

"Maybe I'll see you around," she said with a wink before skilfully lifting the tray above her head and skirting her way through the crowd.

I watched her go, admiring the way her hips moved back and forth in her tight black jeans, under a light blue halter top.

"_Sex on the Brain _it is," Marcus, the bartender, announced, placing two large cocktails in front of me.

"Thanks!" I handed him a bill to cover it and smiled, handing one to Dean and turning to face him. The crowd shifted and his thigh grazed mine as we were pushed up against each other. I took few large gulps of my drink, watching his eyes as he swallowed and reached out to brush a strand of hair back from my neck.

My heart started to race a little as he moved in closer, trailing a hot breath along my skin. He slipped his arms around me as a couple of drunk girls bumped in to us, and placed his drink back on the bar. I took a few more sips of my own drink and then downed the rest of it in one go. _What the heck, I was on vacation. _

"Come on then," Dean said, shaking his head at the drink still on the bar. "Way too much peach," he said before pulling me out to the dance floor.

The music had slowed to accommodate some of the more inebriated clientele who were swaying to and fro to the languishing beat. Dean groaned and pulled me in to him, rocking with his hands on my hips, forehead pressed to mine as he held me close.

A heat had spread through my body like a warm summer breeze that was steadily climbing to boiling point. Everywhere he touched sent shudders coursing through my body, I'd never felt so completely turned on by him. I realised that the last couple of weeks, with nothing more than clandestine touches in the early morning light when John was catching a few hours sleep, had left me with a hunger I barely recognised.

I slid my hands up under his shirt, relishing the touch of his bare skin under my fingers as I traced circles in the small of his back. There was something incredible about how our bodies melded together, his arms sliding around my back, hands slipping into the back of my jeans, sending shivers down to my core.

Dean's lips claimed mine hungrily, drinking from me and drawing soft moans with each swirl of his tongue around mine. A woman bumped up against me and I felt a hand drag along my back, sending a rousing shudder through my body, Dean moaned at the same time and it was as if the sound vibrated across my skin, leaving me craving more.

One hand on my body felt like three, I couldn't get enough, I pulled Dean out of the crowd to the back of the bar, and he didn't argue. He leaned me up against a wall, his hands sliding the length of my body down to my thighs where he lifted me, holding me against him while I wrapped my legs around his waist. He thrust against me, and suddenly the jeans we both had on were too much. Each moan, every breath he took was an invitation to the pleasure I knew he could deliver and I rode upon it as it if I was floating out to sea.

"Heyyy, beautiful people," a woman's voice broke our interlude and I noticed Olivia, the waitress from before, standing beside us. I looked around, _how long had we been here?_ It seemed like hours that we'd been on that dance floor, touching each other, moving to the music. Dean continued to kiss my neck drawing breathless gasps from me as each lick vibrated down to my core; I clenched, feeling the wetness seep from inside of me.

"Uh, hi Olivia," I said, barely getting the words out as Dean playfully bit down on my neck, causing me to arch with pleasure as shock-waves coursed through my body.

"You know, you guys look like you really need some privacy. Let me help you back to your motel room," she said, putting her hands upon our shoulders. Dean slowly pulled away from my neck and looked over at her, his eyes were dark with desire.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," he said. "But that's all right, we can find our way," he said, putting me down on the floor again, his hands still around my waist.

"Nonsense, I like you guys, it's the least I can do," she said with a smile, and she moved around, slipping in between us, taking an arm each. A calmness washed over me and I nodded, I'd forgotten where we were staying anyway.

Olivia fished around in Dean's pockets, coming up with the room key and smiled. "Okay, then, let's go."

* * *

The stroll back did nothing to ease my growing frustration and the anticipation of what was to come once I got Dean behind closed doors. Olivia chatted as we walked about the different sights of Tampa we could check out, and recommended that we get room service at the hotel we were staying in as they did a wonderful omelette.

I found myself mesmerised by the lilting sound of her voice, and encouraged her to keep talking, asking her questions about the city, the parks, the night-life, whatever came to mind. Dean had moved his arm around her shoulders so that he could slide his hand up into my hair, and he was running his fingers through my long dark locks, stroking along the back of my neck. It was sensual and promised of things to follow.

Dean took the key from Olivia when we reached the room, tearing his gaze away long enough to unlock the door. I closed my eyes for just a moment and felt lips caress mine in a seductive, lingering touch. I moaned softly into the kiss and felt Dean's strong arms circle around my waist and pull me against him, my back to his body, pressed against the length of him.

I had a moment of confusion when I reached up and found my hands not against his square jawline and the scratchy feeling of his stubble, instead brushing along Olivia's soft skin, and running into her long blonde hair. I pulled back slightly and she looked at me, cautious.

"Sorry," she said apologetically, but her hands didn't leave my waist. Instead she brushed one hand along my skin under my top, the other running along Dean's arm which was circled around me while he murmured into my neck as he kissed it, seemingly oblivious to the kiss Olivia and I had been sharing.

"You two are incredible to watch, I couldn't help myself," she explained, and another flick of her hand sent tremors along my body, I whimpered, feeling overwhelmed by the sensations going on inside of me. It was as if a dozen hands were running all over my body, in every direction, stroking and caressing every fibre of my being, and I didn't want it to stop.

"It's okay," I said to Olivia, and I pulled her back toward us, kissing her again, my tongue experimentally sliding along her full luscious lips, so different to a man. Dean moaned and pulled us both into the room, Olivia kicked the door shut and smiled, her hands running up my arms and over my shoulders to grasp my face gently as she kissed me again.

I was having trouble concentrating, all I knew is that I didn't mind her being there, and I wasn't about to ask her to leave. I felt like I was tipsy, but I didn't remember drinking that much; with a giggle, I started to slide my hands along her back, leaning in to the kiss as I felt Dean's hands pull me back into him, his breath on the back of my neck.

"Beth," Dean's voice lulled me out of my haze, and I looked around at him. He was shaking his head, as if to clear it and he pulled me slightly away from Olivia.

"Hey, look, there isn't a man on this planet that isn't going to go along with this scenario, but …" his voice faded again and I turned back to Olivia when she started to stroke her hand up and down my bare arm.

"It's okay Dean, I won't do anything that makes either of you feel uncomfortable," she said, looking up into his eyes. "I'm happy to just watch for the most part." Dean looked a little doubtful, but when he saw I was happily going along with this arrangement, he grinned and raised an eyebrow at me, a twinkle coming into his eyes.

"Have I mentioned how you never fail to amaze me?" He said quietly, looking at me with intrigue.

True to her word, Olivia retreated slightly, but keep her hands in contact with us, she circled us, watching, blowing softly against my neck as Dean hungrily teased my lips, gently nibbling on them. Her hands stroked along Dean's neck and shoulders, and I felt him shiver under the touch, a soft moan being smothered by my kisses.

* * *

_**Dean's POV**_

Beth had never been one for voyeurs, in fact, it was slightly confusing that she was going along with this now. She certainly freaked out enough when Dad was in the room, so much so that we rarely did anything if she thought there was a chance he might see or hear. Something I didn't disagree with, but a policy that left us strung out on more than one occasion.

I didn't dwell on it long, as I was overcome again with feelings of pure lust as Olivia ran her hands along our bodies. Everything seemed a little more erotic with someone in the room watching our every move, so let Olivia watch and play if she wanted, I didn't care. She pressed up against my back and I sighed as she started to unbutton my shirt, her fingers brushing along my skin as she went lower and lower. Reaching the last button she chastely pulled her hands back, sliding the shirt from my shoulders, then running her hands down my back.

Beth ran her hands along my chest and the combination of them both either side of me sent waves of heat down to where I was already feeling an insistent arousal. I bunched my hands into Beth's hair, kneading it, stroking along her neck with a compelling desire.

The touching was back; I'd felt it earlier in the bar, as if multiple hands spread across my body, and I quivered with each small stroke from the girls, with each little sound Beth made. I reached up and untied the straps around Beth's neck, letting her top slide down around her waist revealing perfect, pert nipples just waiting to be lavished with attention. With a growl, I leaned down, taking one in my mouth and sucking at the same time as I flicked my tongue across its tip. Beth bucked under the sensation, groaning loudly. "Oh God..." She gasped, and it drove me insane to listen to her. Everything was amplified, a simple suck seemed to leave her reeling from a deep euphoria.

Olivia's hands had found her way to Beth's jeans, as she moved around to sandwich her between us. Within seconds, between Olivia's attentions and mine, we had her naked except for her white lace panties, and I took a moment to admire the view before me, pulling back with a sigh. I still didn't believe she was all mine half the time, like I was still in a dream.

From the corner of my eye I saw Olivia pull back and slip out of her jeans at the same time I pushed Beth on to the bed. I peeled her panties down, leaving her bare and accessible. With Olivia's skilful ministrations, I found my own jeans hit the floor with my shirt, and I gasped with longing, the heat from Olivia's body radiating across my skin as she leaned into me, running her hands along my stomach and then down to stroke along my shaft through the fabric of my boxers. I hesitated, looking at Beth. She was staring at Olivia's hand, chewing on her lip.

Tentatively she reached out and ran her hand along Olivia's arm, smiling and raising an eyebrow to me as she crawled to a kneeling position on the bed, cupping my jaw in her hands and claiming my lips with hers. Hungry moans ate at me as I stroked along her soft, milky skin. I couldn't get enough, sliding my hand down along her side, my other arm going around to pull her tightly against me. I slipped a hand between her legs, seeking the warm pool of liquid I knew I'd find there, waiting, inviting.

I wasn't disappointed. With a soft sigh, almost quivering underneath my touch, Beth sank against my hand, rocking with it as I stroked along her folds, slipping a finger in against her clitoris, the graze of my touch against her drawing a hiss from her, as if it had hurt. I looked at her with worry and she kissed me long and hard, moaning as she rocked against my hand.

Her own hand slid down to remove the boxers I had on, then brush along Olivia's who was stroking me with long, languishing touches; it was keeping me in a heightened state, but not taking me any further, and I leaned back into her slightly, her lips starting to suck at the crook of my neck sending shivers down to my core. Beth brushed her hand under my arousal and cupped my testicles, drawing a long groan from me.

"You feel amazing," she said with smile.

I grinned, and kissed her with a passion that matched her own. She fell back against the bed, her arms around my shoulders and pulling me with her as Olivia released me and moved around to the side of the bed. Hips raised to meet my touch as I plunged an urgent finger inside of her, stretching her, getting her ready because once I started, there was no way I was going to stop.

Beth rolled me, pushing me back against the bed, and with hungry eyes she grinned at me.

"I can't wait," she said and repositioned herself over my groin, rubbing at my throbbing head. I raised my hips slightly to run along her entrance and she shuddered, moaning at the touch. She inched her way down on me, clamping around, squeezing and driving me wild.

I loved to watch her ride me, it was addictive, listening to the moans that escaped her mouth, the little sounds as she changed the angle to hit her in just the way that was right for her. Everything felt good to me, so I let her take control, leaning back and enjoying the ride, my hands on her hips, squeezing and releasing, letting her know when the pace was lulling and when it was otherwise.

Olivia circled the bed, her expression frisky as she watched us, licking her lips. She reached out a hand to Beth and received a smile of invitation. I watched, completely enamoured by the sight, as the blonde beauty moved in behind Beth, kissing the back of her neck, her hands coming around to stroke along Beth's stomach as she rocked back and forth on me.

_Was this really happening? Maybe I was dreaming? I had to be dreaming._

* * *

**Beth's POV**

Olivia had joined us on the bed, and somehow it didn't matter to me. In fact, it felt incredibly alluring as she moved in behind me. She pulled her top over her head, and it left her in nothing but a lacy pair of red underwear standing out against her pale skin. I groaned loudly as she stroked along my stomach and up to my breasts, kissing the back of my neck as I rode Dean.

His hazel eyes stared up into mine, dark and full of desire and lust as I changed the angle again, my hands joined with his, using them for balance while I started to drag myself up along his erection until he almost left me, only to sink back down again, eliciting a groan from him every time. He arched up with each re-entry and I gasped as he hit my sweet spot, shudders vibrating through my body.

I felt completely held and comforted as his hands returned to my waist, and Olivia's hands snaked down along my stomach, slipping down further and finding the hard, sensitive knob pushed between Dean's groin and my own. She pressed against it, using the momentum of my thrusting to send sharp, titillating currents of bliss through my womb.

The dual sensation of Dean under me, Olivia behind, carried me away on a wave of pleasure. My breath was coming in short gasps, and I was losing my way through the haze. I didn't know where I stopped and the others began, it was enthralling and all encompassing. Dean reached out a hand to slip it behind me, and I moaned when I realised he was teasing Olivia who groaned and pressed hotly against me, rocking in to his touch.

Olivia's breath caught with his skilful manipulations and I felt a fresh gush of wetness as heat radiated out from her body. Our combined moans carried me away on a white light as she rocked against him, holding me tightly to her front. Her breasts rubbed along my back and everywhere she touched ached with a need to be stroked and fondled.

My legs started to tremble, and I leaned forward into Dean, wanting to feel him against me. It was distracting having her there, I felt like I was being carried away from him, the touch from Olivia was clouding me, and it was almost as if every fibre of my body was expanding out with the universe, touching the most intimate of places – I started to panic slightly, losing myself in the moment, I just wanted him, to feel him against me.

"Dean..." I whimpered as another shudder coursed through my body; he looked up at me, suddenly concerned at the tone in my voice. Sitting, he pulled Olivia's arms out from around me, and settled me into his lap, we still moved together, but it felt like I had come back into my body – like I wasn't spread out too thin and might break at any moment, I felt safe with his arms around me.

* * *

**Dean's POV**

"Hey, I'm here, I'm here," I said reassuringly to Beth. I don't know what had spooked her, but she seemed lost and confused. I wrapped my arms around her, kissing and rocking her in my lap. I felt Olivia retreat again, and it was just Beth and me, together, as if we were the only ones in the room. Olivia lay on the bed beside us, touching herself and watching as I rolled Beth, staying inside and thrusting deeper into her as her head hit the pillow. Beth seemed to soften again, and with a long groan she wrapped her legs around my waist, rising to meet me.

I moved at a new pace, one that was hot and impassioned, needing to take us to the next level before we drowned in the sensations running across our skin. I knew from the tension in her body and the short moans escaping her mouth that I was pressed up against that sweet spot and it was sending deep vibrations through her very core. Her breath caught and she reached out, grasping at Olivia's arm as her whole body tensed, taking my thrusts and meeting them head on.

Second by second I felt her lulled toward the edge – she was going to get there way before me tonight; I moaned my arousal, as Beth begged me to keep going, to bring her to release. Clinging to my shoulders, she whispered her needs in my ear, guiding me and I moved to accommodate, a slightly deeper angle here, a hand against her clitoris there, and with short intense breaths, she called out with relief as the final shudder erupted from within, coursing along her body, down through her legs which tightened beneath me.

I loved listening to this moment, the sounds she made as she went over the edge, surrendering to the pure physical culmination of everything that had brought us to this moment. She trembled from the sheer power of the orgasm, groaning my name as I watched her. Olivia herself was breathless as Beth stroked along her shoulder and she lay back, teasing herself and arching to her touch. Beth pulled her over to kiss her softly while Olivia started to reach her own peak in soft, long moans.

To the sounds of Olivia's release, so different to Beth, I resumed my thrusts. Now at a faster pace that was only for me, I hit the spots that I needed; leaning in to her, burying my face in her neck as each apex drew a groan from my throat; my breath came in ragged bursts, quickening with each thrust. I felt my arousal build and swell inside of her, the contractions seizing me as a pressure built deep within, rising until I couldn't hold it any longer. With a grunt, and a deep guttural groan, I thrust into Beth, holding tight and shuddering with pleasure as my entire body clenched, pulling me under. I clung to her for dear life, moaning and thinking that if I was going to die, this would have to be the best way to go.

Finally I started to relax, and everything melted into the afterglow of our passion. I rolled beside her, pulling the blanket up and over us as she snuggled in next to me. I looked over behind Beth and found the bed empty, so was the room, now that I was paying attention.

"Where did Olivia go?" I asked, glancing back at the closed door.

"Who?" Beth asked, looking at me confused.

"Olivia, the waitress from the bar," I reminded her. _You know, the one who just totally had you riding on a wave of ecstasy?_

"Oh, she left ages ago didn't she?" Beth asked absently. I frowned, looking at her. Maybe she was right, but I thought I remembered her undressing us. Or maybe I had been dreaming. In fact, I'm sure I'd watched her leave as soon as she knew we were back here safely. Right? _Why did everything seem so hazy?_

Beth sighed happily in my arms, and I smiled down at her, my heart overspilling at the fact that she was here, and she was mine. Nothing was ever going to change that fact. I kissed her forehead and leaned over to turn out the light at the side of the bed, settling in against the pillows, Beth tangled around me, her head on my chest.

"Mmmm, I needed that," she said in the darkness, and I smiled, nodding in complete agreement. The last thing that entered my mind was how amazing it felt to have her naked body pressed against mine as we fell asleep, and how convenient that was going to be in the morning. It had been one hell of a long fortnight. I intended to make up for it over the next few days, she wasn't going to know what hit her.

* * *

**Dean's POV**

_Beth's eyes were penetrating to my very soul as I rolled her, pinning her under me, the feel of her soft skin brushing along mine as I spread her legs, rubbing against her. The hitch in her breath told me I'd found the right spot as I ground against her, wetness surrounding me, as I drove into her again and again. She arched up, throwing her head against the pillow and moaned, the sound driving me into an even deeper sense of bliss. _

_I gasped her name, finding my rhythm, as I thrust deeper and deeper, harder, faster, the moment carrying away to an almost desperate climax. I found myself reaching that point where everything was built up, everything tightened, and the pressure from within starting to edge over, pulling me within. The clamping around me sent me over the edge, and I sank deep, driving with a final couple of thrusts as I looked down to see those blue eyes._

_Blue eyes? I pulled back, startled, and realised it was Olivia beneath me, not Beth. She smiled, coming up to kiss me and I was overcome by the pleasurable sensations running down my body. It didn't feel right, and I pulled away only to be grabbed by several sets of hands, pinning me back against a wall. Olivia smiled and advanced on me, licking along my neck and down my chest, flicking a tongue across my nipple, I fought not to moan as I struggled against the hands holding me._

"_Stop it," I said to her, looking down. She smiled up at me, and shook her head._

"_Just relax, you'll enjoy it more," she said, and then I felt her mouth around my already exhausted member, sucking and teasing me to arousal once more. I fought it, gasping at the feel of her lips around me, she knew what she was doing, and it felt amazing. _

_I had to stop it though, something wasn't right. Where were we? How long had I been here? I writhed under her touch, wanting to give in, feeling the intense heat spread throughout my thighs and stomach as she skilfully brought me closer to my peak again. _

"_Stop it," I said again, my hands finding their way to her hair, yanking her back off me. The sensations stopped for a moment and I breathed a sigh of relief. Olivia looked at me angrily, standing up; she was suddenly dressed in a leather bustier and long black boots coming up to her thighs and holding a cat-o-nine tails. I swallowed, frowning at the device in her hands. I didn't like the look of it._

"_Naughty boy," she said. "Why do you have to be so difficult?" She asked, coming up and kissing me. "You're delicious, the pair of you, how does she ever get enough of you? You'd never leave my bed if you were mine." _

"_What are you?" I asked._

"_Just a woman, with needs. Hungry needs," she answered, trailing a hand along my shoulder. "But you know, if you won't cooperate, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Pain can be sexual too, you know. And I know how to get that out of you." _

_I frowned, struggling against the hands holding me again, finding myself pressed against a rack of some sort as they tried to strap me down. I fought, kicking and punching as Olivia drew back with the whip in her hands lashing out. _

With a gasp I sat up, the motel room was filled with bright sunlight streaming in from the open curtains. I turned and Beth was lying next to me, her arm wrapped tightly around my waist. I stroked along her face softly, taking a few deep breaths and trying to get my head around the dream. How weird. It wasn't like me to dream about other women, especially blondes... something about last night must have really thrown me.

I stretched, then gently moved Beth's arm so I could climb out of bed. I was exhausted, just how many rounds had we gone last night? It felt like we'd done an all night marathon, yet I remembered so little of it. Something definitely wasn't right. I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, putting the coffee pot on to brew, and opening the laptop. Beth was still sleeping peacefully, and there was work to be done.

* * *

**Beth's POV**

_I way laying on a bed of furs, writhing in complete ecstasy as dozens of hands stroked along every part of my naked body. Firm, loving caresses trailed along every exposed inch of skin, as wave after wave of pleasure shot through my body. Thin trails of light floated from me in the air, hovering over my body and I watched as they started to pull away toward my feet. Pale hands ran over my ankles, sliding up along my thighs to stroke against my clitoris, bringing me to the peak of ecstasy yet again. When I thought I could no longer bare the touch it pushed me over, drowning me as I fought to breathe I was so completely locked in my body, a slave to the shudders being drawn from my centre. I looked up to see Olivia's penetrating blue gaze watching me from between my legs, she licked her lips and I frowned, not believing what I had just seen._

_A serpent's tongue flicked out as she leaned down to kiss along my inner thigh and I struggled to get another look at her, something feeling incredibly wrong in my gut. Hands held me down from all directions, pressing me harder the more I struggled. The fur underneath me started to writhe and constrict around me and I turned my head to the side, a snake slithering past my face and sliding over my stomach. I gasped, fighting the hands that held me down and those blue eyes looked up at me again from where long ripples of pleasure had been drawn from me just a moment earlier. _

"_Who are you?" I asked Olivia, and she smiled, her eyes washing to a sea green, and her hair transforming into hundreds of tiny snakes. _

"_Sleep..." she said to me, and I shook my head. A wave of pleasure worked it's way along from where she was touching me, as if a tidal wave crashing over my body. The light tendrils were back, pulling from my skin, and she wove a hand through them, tugging on them, and smiling. She pulled them away from me and sent them into the darkness surrounding us where they disappeared as if swallowed. _

_I lay against the snakes, writhing from the rapture as my mind fought for control. Pushing against the intoxicating waves of delight I struggled to sit, groaning with anger at the hands holding me down; with a burst of energy I kicked loose of Olivia, and rolled free, coming to my feet in a crouch. Blue eyes flashed in the darkness and I heard laughter wash across me, it sounded like the choirs of heaven, and I almost ran into the darkness seeking it. _

_Hands grabbed me again, pulling me back to where the stack of furs lay again, and I screamed from the violation, the anger I was feeling, I pushed against them, fighting and then I ran into the darkness where suddenly I hit a wall of something soft, pushing, forcing my way through. My hand broke the surface and I pulled myself through gasping for breath as I reached the other side._

The motel room suddenly crashed in around me, and I sat up with a cry, clutching the sheets around me. I felt hands grab at me and I fought them off, crawling backwards on the bed until I hit the headboard.

"Beth!" Dean's voice broke through the haze and I gulped, blinking several times as the room came into focus. He was sitting next to me on the bed, reaching for me again and this time I collapsed into his arms, whimpering.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked soothingly, pulling me into his lap and wrapping the sheet around me. I shook my head negatively, burying my face in his neck and holding on fiercely to him. "It was just a dream," he said, rocking me. It wasn't the first time I'd woken up in the middle of the night scared or screaming, but it was the first time I'd ever felt like I wasn't going to come out of it.

My stomach retched and I pushed myself away from him, finding my feet long enough to stumble into the bathroom as I emptied the entire contents of my stomach into the toilet bowl. I groaned, feeling light-headed and sore, a stark contrast to how I'd felt only a few hours earlier.

Dean came into the bathroom carrying a bathrobe which he draped over my shoulders, pulling my hair back from my face as I took a few steadying breaths, waiting to see if that was the last of it. When it was, I climbed unsteadily to my feet, wrapping the robe around my body and cinching it at the waist before brushing my teeth and taking a drink of water from the sink. I stared into the mirror and thought I saw dark circles forming under my eyes.

I waited for my breathing to settle down, and then allowed Dean to draw me out of the bathroom, to the couch where he sat and pulled me into his lap. I buried my nose in his neck, taking in his uniquely blended scent of leather mixed with pine. I drew in long, repetitive breaths, trying to calm myself. I was with Dean, I was safe, nothing could harm me now. My hands ran down his body and I realised he had a t-shirt on, and sweatpants. I frowned, looking up at him and then over at the table where the laptop was open and he had been doing some work.

"You're dressed?" I asked, confused. "How long have you been awake?"

He sighed, looking at me with worried hazel eyes. "Hours," he said quietly, brushing a tendril of hair back from my face. "I couldn't sleep, bad dreams."

"Me too..." I said softly, resting my head against his shoulder. "I feel so sick, I don't remember drinking that much."

"You didn't," he said quietly, his tone giving nothing away. He looked down at me, assessing my state. "What did you dream about?"

I closed my eyes, the imagery of the dream coming back to me in technicolour replay. I shuddered, and it felt like a hand ran down my back, causing me to shiver. I moved in closer to Dean, hoping for his warmth to chase away my demons. "Olivia... and someone, something else in the shadows," I started, trailing a hand along his chest. "I couldn't get away, and I was being … held down... and it was like last night only more exotic and intoxicating." I gasped, some of the memories of the night coming back to me, of Olivia touching me, kissing my neck.

"Oh Dean...just how drunk were we last night?" I asked, looking up at him. He frowned and shook his head, looking over at the bed.

"That's just the thing, we _weren't _drunk," he said with a certainty. "But we certainly did things I never thought we would."

I nodded at him, and then turned worried eyes to him. "What were you dreaming about?" I asked. He took a deep breath, and I watched as his poker face went up, I knew he was going to lie to me, so I jumped in first. "Don't go telling me what I want to hear either," I said pointedly, cupping his cheek with my hand.

He sighed and rolled his eyes at me. "Can't get away with anything when it comes to you," he complained and I giggled, shaking my head. His expression turned serious and he glanced over at the computer.

"Well at first it was us, and it was hot, so incredibly hot..." He smiled softly, but then a frown crossed his face. "Suddenly Olivia was there – like with you – only it wasn't something I was welcoming, I was pulled away and held down, and it was more like I'd stepped into some dungeon S&M thing, I was tied to this... uhhh.. well, it wasn't good, let me tell you. Woke me clear out of my sleep." He shuddered, holding me, shaking his head as if to clear it.

"You should have woken me," I said, kissing his cheek and trailing my lips soothingly along his jaw.

"You looked so peaceful or I might have," he said, smiling at me. "Especially if I'd known what was going on with you."

I looked over at the computer and nodded in its direction. "What are you researching?" I asked, Dean shifted, lifting me in his arms and standing. He carried me over to the table, seating himself on the chair with me in his lap, my arms wrapped around his neck.

He tapped a key and the screen saver disappeared to reveal a few supernatural websites we frequented. Articles on succubi littered the page.

"Succubi?" I asked, frowning and skimming over the articles.

Dean nodded and pointed to one article in particular. "They're said to enter your dreams, where they feed on the sexual energy of what is … well … a really, really incredible wet dream," he said with a grin. I chuckled and nodded, that was pretty much it in a nutshell.

"But she turned into a snake, or... snake-like creature, why would that happen?" I asked, confused.

"Don't know, maybe in the feeding stage they can't hide their true self, who knows," he said. "But that's not all, it's not just dreams they feed through, that's just the after effects. Some people believe they initially have to infect you through touch, seducing you and taking you to bed."

I paused, thinking about the night before, the very unusual position we'd found ourselves in. Never before had we even entertained the idea of sharing each other, and yet we'd just jumped right in with a complete stranger last night.

"I think she might have been feeding off you the most," Dean said quietly, looking at me. I swallowed, nodding. It would explain why I felt so sick, and weak. I sunk back into his arms with a sigh.

"God... can't we just have one, teeny, tiny holiday without something cropping up to hunt?" I whined. Dean chuckled and kissed my forehead.

"I promise, we'll take care of this and once we get to Miami, any hunts are all Jefferson's," he said, and I grinned, poor Jefferson. Well, hopefully he'd taken care of his own town by the time we got there anyway.

I groaned, and looked over at the clock by the side of the bed. 6 o'clock. I'd completely lost track of how long last night's encounter had been, 6 o'clock, I wondered if perhaps room service was open yet, and climbed out of Dean's lap to flip through the hotel guide and find out.

Suddenly the screams of a woman echoed from the room next to us. Dean was out the door in an instant. I took a moment to grab a gun from our bag before following him into the hallway. The next thing I saw was nothing short of comical.

A short little guy in a jumpsuit and fedora hat was being restrained by Dean, attempting to swing a silver knife at a young girl who was using a fake plant to bat at him, crying and backing away.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, man! What are you doing?" Dean said to the guy he was holding on to.

"Lemme go! She's a succubus, I gotta kill her!" The guy said and I frowned, looking at the girl. She looked like a harmless young woman, nothing more.

"What is he talking about?" The girl asked, tears streaming down his face. "I swear! That's the last time I go home with a guy, you all are crazy!" She threw down the plant and ran into the room next to ours, grabbing a bag and some shoes, and then leaving while Dean continued to hold on to the guy.

"Hey, hey!" I said to the guy, slipping the gun into the pocket of my robe. "What are you doing? That girl is not a succubus, are you nuts?" I asked him, looking incredulously from him to Dean. Once the girl was gone Dean shrugged and released the man.

"How would you know?" The guy asked, looking me over, his eyes lingering a little too long on my bare legs. I realised I was only dressed in the robe and I threw my hands in the air and walked away, returning to our room.

"Hey, hey, well maybe you're one. Man, I heard the noises coming from your room the last few nights..." he stopped and looked at Dean who stalked past him, shaking his head. "Mazel tov, by the way man," he said with a grin, following Dean into our room. Dean rolled his eyes, but when he looked at me there was a twinkle there and he was grinning at me.

"Hey, I'm Richie by the way," the guy said, holding his hand out to Dean.

"Dean," he replied, shaking it. Dean nodded in my direction as I headed for the bathroom with an armload of clothes. "That's Beth."

"Beth... nice to meet you," Richie said with a wink, I shook my head and rolled my eyes, closing the bathroom door behind me.

I dressed quickly in a fresh pair of jeans, a white tank top, and a sage green bolero with sequins. I figured, hey, I was on holidays and I'd bought this thing for Miami, might as well test it out before we got there. I pulled a brush through my tangled locks and splashed some water on my face before deciding I was brave enough to face the knowing looks of the motel neighbour who had just announced he heard the orgy next door to him last night. I was feeling a little mortified in the harsh light of day.

Dean was leaning casually against the counter talking to Richie when I came back into the room.

"So, you're a hunter?" Dean asked and I raised my eyebrow.

"Yeah, I uh, I got into it when this thing, a spirit, it attacked my sister see?" Richie said, nodding at us. "There was this guy who came out of no where and helped us out, a hunter, and I been doing it ever since."

"Yeah? How long is that?" Dean asked in a friendly manner.

"Oh a few months, you know?" Richie asked, shrugging his shoulders. "How about you guys? How did you get into hunting?"

Dean and I exchanged a long glance and he answered for us. "Yeah, long, long complicated story, man." He said and Richie nodded with a smile, looking between the two of us, waiting expectantly for Dean to continue. He was about to be disappointed.

Dean shrugged it off, walking over to where I was standing.

"Hey, bistro is open downstairs, you want to grab breakfast now?" He asked, and I nodded silently, thinking about how easily we'd fallen into the succubus' web.

"Breakfast! How about dinner?! You guys have slept the day away... or well... slept for some of it anyway," Richie said with a grin. "Let me get my wallet!" He started to leave and then turned back to us with a grin. "I bet you guys have quite the appetite after the last few days you've had!" He shook his head appreciatively.

"What do you mean days?" Dean asked with a frown, "we just got here last night."

"No way! You've been in here for at least a couple of nights, it's been non-stop man, I don't know how you guys keep it up, you're like machines," Richie said. I stared at him, _days? _I felt myself turning bright red, and looked down at my hands until he left to get his wallet.

When I glanced up again Dean was chuckling quietly beside me. "You should see the look on your face," he said with a short laugh. I opened my mouth but had nothing to say, instead I picked up the pillow off the bed and hit him with it.

"Oh my god Dean! I mean... it's not like motel sex is something we don't know anything about, but I never thought I'd have to talk to the person listening in!" I said in horror. He laughed again and slipped his arms around my waist, pulling me back against him.

"Come on, you've got nothing to be embarrassed about, it's a beautiful, natural act," he said, kissing the back of my neck. "Richie should feel privileged to get to listen in on you," he murmured and I covered my face with my hands. _Mortified, absolutely mortified._

"It doesn't change the fact that we seem to have lost time," Dean said with a concern. I nodded, frowning. I felt sick to my stomach, the familiar hunger pangs there from days where we sometimes forgot to eat because we were so wrapped up in a hunt.

"I'm starving," I said to Dean, he nodded.

"Yeah, me too – we need to get some food into us," he said, grabbing his jacket and putting it on. He changed into a pair of jeans and then Richie was back, eager to get going. I rolled my eyes, I didn't feel like babysitting right now, but it looked like we had a stray following us for a while.

* * *

_**Hotel Bistro**_

**Dean's POV**

Beth was looking pale and tired, I was secretly worried about the effect that this succubus, or incubus, maybe both had had on her. Richie was talking non-stop and it was giving me a headache.

"Drinks?" The waitress asked and I almost groaned at the invitation.

"I'll take a beer, thanks," I answered, "whatever you have handy." She smiled and turned to the others.

"Yeah, yeah same here," Richie said nodding.

"Just water thanks," Beth replied with a small smile. I frowned, she definitely wasn't feeling well.

I was starving, and ordered the roast pork special, that was bound to be good. Richie ordered the same and I rolled my eyes, did the guy have no sense of himself? Beth went for a caesar salad which she barely picked at when it did arrive.

"So Richie," I said, looking over at the other guy who was spending the majority of the time staring at Beth in fascination. I cleared my throat and raised an eyebrow at him, and he at least had the decency to look a little chagrined.

"What makes you think there's a succubus on the loose?" I asked.

"Well, there's been a lot of couples turning up dead in their motel rooms in this area, you know?" I nodded like I had half a clue what he was talking about.

"Yeah, well, four in this motel alone, two in another, and one more in the Hilton too. A couple are in comas, the rest of them look like they just … died having sex, man. Which I mean, if you have to go, couldn't think of a better way..." He grinned over at Beth who did her best to muster up a smile, her eyes flicking over to me letting me know she wasn't entirely comfortable with the attention Richie was giving her.

"Any survivors?" I asked him.

He turned back to me and nodded. "One, a woman, said they'd been attacked by a witch and spellbound. They didn't leave their room for days – hotel says it was more like a week, just kept extending their stay, refused cleaning, just locked themselves in and disappeared."

"So what made you think this girl was a succubus?" Beth asked him suddenly, she sounded a little angry at Richie.

"Oh, well, you know, she was all keen to get it on... and she seemed to be interested in couples. I had to tell her I had a girlfriend back at the motel room to get her to come with me." He chuckled and I raised my eyebrow. Hardly grounds to kill the girl.

"Right..." I said.

"Hey, I was about to come check up on you guys, what a record – you had all the signs of these other couples." He commented. I shook my head, _funny about that._

"Why didn't you?" I asked, and he grinned at me.

"Well, you know, you sounded like you were having so much fun..." Beth sighed and stood up from the table.

"Excuse me," she said before walking off toward the bathroom.

"Something I said?" Richie asked, looking confused.

"Nah man, she's just not feeling well," I said. "But seriously, dude, I'm not sure this is a job for you. Why don't you take off, we'll get this one."

"What? And miss all the fun?" He said, looking hurt.

"Well, you know, we kind of hunt alone," I said, completely lying, we we always willing to team up – when the hunter was competent.

"Oh, well, yeah, me too. You know? But I can't see why we can't all work the same job, more hands on deck," he said with a smile.

I couldn't help it, I kind of liked the guy, he was a moron sure, but he looked like he knew how to have a good time. I could appreciate that.

"Okay, well why don't you check out the hotels again, see if there's anything happening there," I said, at least it might keep him out of trouble while Beth and I did some research.

Beth. I drank the rest of my beer and looked over the remains of my meal. Nah, I was done here.

"Right, well, I'm gonna check on Beth and take her back upstairs, see if I can get her to eat something other than rabbit food here," I told Richie, "Let us know if you find any more out?"

Richie nodded, and threw me a wink. "Sure thing man, enjoy."

I shook my head and walked back toward the restrooms. Beth was sitting on a little love seat outside the doors leading into the actual toilets, she glanced up when I rounded the corner, getting up and wrapping her arms tightly around my waist.

"Hey... you all right?" I asked, and she shook her head against my chest.

"This isn't like you at all," I commented, lifting her chin up so I could look into her eyes.

"I don't feel like me at all," she said, frowning. She held out her hand and it was shaking. "I don't feel right, Dean."

"Well you barely touched your dinner, it could be fatigue," I said, frowning and taking her hand in mine. "Come on, I'm gonna order you a burger and have it sent to our room, a little iron wouldn't kill you, you're looking pale." She nodded and smiled back at me.

"What would I do without you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Well, you probably wouldn't be in this situation to start with," I said with a smirk, leaning in to kiss her. "But I hope we never have to find out."

* * *

_**Motel Room  
**_

**Beth's POV**_**  
**_

We'd ditched Richie after dinner, heading back to the motel room to do some more research. I was sitting at the computer, reading through countless accounts of succubi attacks. My head was still spinning and I wanted to sleep, but at the same time I was scared to. Dean had ordered me a burger as soon as we got to the room, and I'd devoured it, best burger I'd ever had – but then, I was starving.

"It just doesn't make any sense," I said to Dean, who was pouring us a couple of coffees. "From all these accounts, succubus only feed on males, so why me? Why the couples? Wouldn't she have tried to seduce you on your own, or left us alone altogether?"

Dean shrugged, walking over to put my coffee beside me on the table.

"Maybe the research is wrong. I mean, how many people do we know who have actually seen one of these things?" He asked. I contemplated this statement; Dean had called John to ask him about it, but he hadn't even crossed paths with one. He was quietly concerned, even offering to come out to help us take care of the creature, but we'd managed to convince him we could handle it on our own, promising to call Jefferson if we needed the help.

My dream flashed before my eyes again and I grimaced, a headache flaring up behind my forehead. I took a few steadying breaths and grabbed the coffee, gulping down a few mouthfuls. _Blue eyes. _The memory of the eyes in the darkness flashed out at me.

"What is it?" Dean asked, watching me and seeing the realisation hit me.

"What if she's not hunting alone?" I said, clicking through a couple of links on the computer.

"Huh?" Dean queried, coming to sit next to me.

"Well, there's a male version of a succubus, an incubus. What if the couples theme is because they're both feeding at the same time?" I asked, looking over at him.

Dean frowned and looked at the screen, reading the description I had pulled up. "Maybe, but it's not like there was anyone else in the room with us last night," he pointed out.

"I'm not so sure about that now," I said, biting my lip. "I mean, how much do you actually remember about last night? Hell, about the last few days? The only thing I really remember is you, everything else is a little hazy," I said with a frown. "Anyone could have slipped into the room while we were..." I trailed off, not wanting to think about it.

Dean looked a little grim, and shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, I'm not really happy with that idea... this, spell or whatever they put us under. It was strong. I didn't notice anything unusual."

"Blood..." I said, reading some of the information in front of me.

"Huh?" He asked, looking over.

"Blood, the blood of the succubus or incubus is like a drug apparently. It causes feelings of euphoria, eroticism, lust..." I frowned.

"Well that explains a lot," Dean commented.

I nodded, and chewed on my lower lip, reading some more information about the incubi. "Maybe he doesn't need to actually be in the room," I suggested, trying to ease our troubled minds. "It was in my dream that I saw these, blue eyes, and something was watching from the shadows."

Dean nodded, and reached out to stroke a hand along my neck, I leaned in to his touch, letting it soothe me.

"Either way, looks like we have two of them to hunt," he said cautiously, looking at his watch. "Does it say anywhere in there on how we kill them?"

I sighed, looking at the screen. "Yes, and no. There's many suggestions. Catching them in a mirror, apparently they become distracted by their own reflection? You break the mirror once they are caught up in it. Consecrated silver knife. Consecrated bronze knife. Consecration seems to be the underpinning thing here. According to this, the '_minions of Satan can be returned to Hell by the word of a true believer in God_'," I said with a raised eyebrow.

"Well that's all you babe," he said with a chuckle. I laughed and shook my head.

"I just find it hard to believe they're a form of demon," I said with a frown. "Some accounts put them as Fae, but most of the research points to demons. In theory we should be able to exorcise them... did Dad have any ideas?" Dean shook his head, and stared out the window.

"There's too much lore to narrow it down, I mean, look here – apparently the Succubus is a product of too much masturbation. What the hell?" I shook my head, I really disliked when the church took the experience of a supernatural being and made it all about the sins of the victim. Dean chuckled, leaning over to kiss me.

"Something you need to tell me? Are you not satisfied by my attentions?" He asked, I laughed and shoved playfully at him.

"Get out of here, as if!" I grinned and moved to straddle him, kissing along his jaw until I reached his lips. "What are we going to do?"

"Hmmm, well if it is a demon, not much is going to stop it. Silver knife might paralyse it, long enough for us to exorcise it. But I'm inclined to think it's the church's way of explaining away a supernatural creature," he said, and I nodded.

"What's it say about the Fae?" He asked curiously, looking over at the screen.

"Not much, only that it's a type of faerie that feeds on sexual energy," I answered, draping my arms around his neck.

"So we get an iron knife too, just to be sure. If one doesn't work, maybe the other will," Dean said, looking thoughtful. "Maybe we should call Bobby?" He asked.

I looked doubtful. "You think he'll talk to us?" I asked, biting at my lip. Dean shrugged, no one had heard from Bobby since the big falling out over John and Cole.

"Pastor Jim?" I asked, shrugging.

"Yeah, okay, give him a call, I'll call Jefferson and see if he knows anything," Dean said with a nod.

When we compiled the information from Pastor Jim and Jefferson the common thread seemed to be a silver knife, but Pastor Jim had an extra piece of information: to kill a succubus the knife had to be dipped in the blood of an incubus, and vice versa.

"Great," I said, sitting back on the couch. "Well that leaves us high and dry, who the hell is the incubus?"

Dean looked thoughtful, leaning against the window, staring down at the river.

"Well, we're not going to figure that out standing around here, let's go back to the bar, see if we can't locate Olivia at least," he said, coming to stand behind me, his hands massaging my shoulders firmly.

"Mmmm, ok," I murmured, letting him work at the knots in my neck and shoulders. "At any rate, that woman said these visitations happened over the course of a week, chances are she'll be looking for us again."

Dean's hands stopped moving and I looked up, seeing his facial expression in the mirror. "What?" I asked.

"Maybe you should go on to Miami alone," he said. "I'll call Dad, get him to come help with the hunt."

"What? No way! You're not packing me off to Jefferson while you put yourself in danger," I argued, standing up to face him. "You promised, we do this, and we do this together. No heroics." I said, and he sighed, running a hand over his face.

"Beth, I'm worried, _really worried_. If anything happened to you..." He stopped, looking at me conflicted. I sighed, leaning in to wrap my arms around his waist.

"Nothing is going to happen to me, we know what we're dealing with now, we'll be fine. We're stronger together." I said. He held me close, and I listened to his heart beat a moment while we contemplated our next move.

"Okay. Well it doesn't change anything, we still have to find Olivia, and convince her we had a good time last night, today... or whatever," he said with a grin.

I chuckled. "Well... I _did _have a good time, what I remember of it," I said with a raised eyebrow. Dean groaned and nodded, kissing me firmly.

"Me too," he said with a grin. "But I'm not eager to repeat it under the influence of a blood-drugged delusion. Come on, let's hit the bar, see if she's about."

I slipped a silver knife into my boot, and Dean did the same under his jacket. A flask of holy water each, and we were ready to leave the motel.

We stepped out into the hallway only to find Richie walking back toward us, Olivia hanging off his arm.

"Hi guys," he said with a big smile. "I just met this amazing woman at the bar down the street, Olivia, meet Dean and Beth."

"Oh we've met," Olivia said with a smile, and I felt a pull on my solar plexus and a completely unreasonable desire to walk over and kiss her, so I did.

Her lips were exactly as I remembered, soft and warm, and I sucked on them softly as I slid my tongue in to meet hers with a moan.

"Whoooa..." I heard Richie say from beside us and then Dean was pushing us all into Richie's open motel room, shutting the door behind us. Olivia had her hands tangled in my hair and pulled me in close, her thigh slipping between my legs, rubbing at me. I moaned, trying to stay focused, but I was losing my way again.

"My turn," Dean said suddenly, appearing behind us and spinning Olivia to face him. She turned with a smile that was suddenly cut short as he brought up a silver knife, stabbing her. His face was grim and Richie let out a distressed exclamation.

"What are you doing man!" Richie asked, and Dean glared at him.

"She's the succubus you idiot," I said to Richie, pulling away and sitting on the bed, wrapping my arms around me. Olivia struggled, trying to push Dean off her, but he held her firmly.

"Richie, get something to tie her up with, now!" Dean said and hearing that Olivia started to scream, ear-piercing murder screams. Dean quickly shoved a cloth in her mouth, gagging her, and forcing her into a chair, where Richie started to tie her with the phone cord.

"You used a silver knife right?" Richie asked, looking at Dean.

"Yeah, but it's not that simple," Dean said, standing back. "She'll be weak, but it won't kill her. Leave it in there, I don't know how fast these things heal. Whatever you do, _don't touch her! _We need to go do something else before we can kill her, we'll be back as soon as possible." Richie was nodding his agreement, looking pale.

"Look, Richie, just stay calm, okay? It'll be fine. Don't touch her, don't untie her, don't ungag her. Just wait for us, okay?" Dean reiterated, taking my silver knife and drawing it across her arm, allowing the blood to drip on to the knife. He wrapped it in a cloth and looked over at Richie to ensure he understood the order.

"Yeah okay man, you got it," Richie said, and then Dean turned to grab me, pulling me to a standing position.

"Are you okay? I need you focused!" He said sternly to me. I nodded, blinking back the haze. Now she wasn't touching me, I felt a lot clearer.

"Yeah, yeah let's go," I said.

"Hey guys. I did find out something while I was looking into the other couples. All of them have visited the bar where this girl works." Richie said and I looked up at Dean.

"He has to be there somewhere. She was quite keen on the DJ," I said, looking over at Olivia. Dean nodded.

"Let's go," he said. "We don't have a lot of time."

* * *

_**Local Bar **_

**Beth's POV**

The same bartender from last night was there when we arrived, the place was a little quieter, much less people around. The DJ hadn't started yet, but he was setting up his equipment. I stared at him until the bartender came up, washing up the counter in front of him.

"Quiet tonight," I said to Marcus as I leaned on the bar.

"Yeah, always is on a Monday," he commented and I frowned, we'd arrived Saturday night. We'd literally lost a day somewhere. "What'll it be? Still got sex on the brain?" He asked with a grin.

I chuckled and nodded. "Sounds good, but uh, just a beer for him," I said, nodding toward Dean who looked relieved.

"Coming right up," Marcus said with a smile.

"So we uh, we were looking for Olivia, has she been around?" Dean asked Marcus when he laid the beer down in front of him.

"Ohhh, she's a lot of fun isn't she?" Marcus said with a grin. "Yeah she's been around. Finished her shift a half hour ago, but I think you might have missed out tonight dude, she left with some little Italian fella, not usually her type, but hey – each to their own right?"

"Yeah, yeah no accounting for some people's taste, huh?" Dean asked with a grin. "Hey look, is there anyone, another man, who she sort of hangs out with a fair bit here?"

"You jealous?" Marcus asked with a laugh and Dean shook his head.

"Nah, just curious, we were thinking... well you know... always fun to experiment," Dean said and I felt sick just thinking about it. Marcus smiled broadly at him and nodded toward the DJ.

"Well, she and Theo over there share an apartment," he said, and Dean looked thoughtful.

Marcus was staring at me as I sipped at my drink, and it was starting to make me feel self-conscious. Dean wandered off to question the DJ and he leaned forward with a suggestive look.

"You know, if you guys want... I'd be happy to help you out since Olivia isn't available," he said. I nearly spat out my drink in shock – really? I took another gulp just to cover my surprise and smiled at him.

"Yeah, uh, maybe... what did you have in mind?" I said, admiring the golden curls on his head and his bright blue eyes. He was definitely hot, no denying that. He stroked a hand along my forearm and I felt tingles pulsate along my arm, resonating down my body in shivers.

"You are, really, really something," he said, leaning in to me, his hand grasping my chin and lifting my lips to his. He kissed me and my legs nearly collapsed under me, I clung to the bar, lost on a wave of passion that left me breathless. I felt the metallic taste of blood pool in my mouth and belatedly I realised what was happening. I pushed back, tripping over my own feet in my haste, landing on the floor to stare up at him. Marcus started to laugh, and then suddenly Dean was behind him, grasping him around the neck as he shoved his blood-soaked silver knife into the man.

Dean dragged him quickly into the store room behind them, and I rushed to my feet, feeling unsteady and dizzy. I felt my way around the bar, heading for the store room. Inside, Dean was pinning the incubus down the knife embedded in his chest.

The demon seemed dead. "It didn't kill him?" I asked.

"No... any ideas?" Dean asked urgently.

My legs collapsed with a wave of euphoria and I hit the floor. Dean looked back at me startled.

"Are you okay?" He asked. I shook my head.

Marcus stared up at me and I felt as if I was having the life sucked out of me as wave after wave of rapture washed over me. I lay on the ground, panting with the delirium it was causing. My legs shook and I groaned feeling an orgasm building without so much as a touch.

"Oh... damn..." Dean muttered, and he turned to smash Marcus in the face with a punch, rendering the man unconscious.

"My blood..." I said and shuddered, the after effects of the blood in my mouth fighting with my desire to stay conscious instead of giving in to the euphoria threatening to overwhelm me. Dean looked at me, frowning, and then seemed to realise what I was saying.

"You think?" He asked.

"It's infected with both of them now," I groaned, still in the throes of an undesired orgasm. Dean pulled me into his arms, watching as I moaned and gasped, clinging to him. I felt sick and ecstatic at the same time, riding on something that wasn't going to stop, that seemed to be edging me on but not completing. He gulped and pulled the knife out of Marcus, and I held out my arm to him, closing my eyes, shaking.

The sharp sting of metal eating into me was sudden and drove me even deeper into the passion I was feeling. I groaned and Dean looked worried as he placed me against the wall, turning to Marcus. He plunged the knife into the incubus again and with a long expelled breath, the man stopped moving, then shimmered – the illusion of a man fading into a serpent like creature. Dean turned, looking satisfied, before he knelt next to me, pulling me back into his arms.

With a cry I leaned my head back against Dean's arm, whimpering as another wave hit me, still not bringing me over the edge. I arched against him and then felt his hands pressing against me, opening my jeans and sliding in to find me hot and ready. I sighed with relief, bucking against him and his fingers easily and expertly found the right angle, the exact spot I needed, rubbing along me, as I groaned into his shoulder. Within seconds I crashed over the edge, thrashing against him, my body shaking like I was having a seizure. I clung to him for a good long while as the ecstasy subsided, completely exhausted.

"Damn, talk about starting without me," Dean said with a grin. I forced myself into a sitting position and shoved at him.

"Shut up!" I said with a laugh, already starting to feel better.

We looked over at the dead body beside us, and Dean grimaced, pulling the silver knife out of the man.

"I'm glad I have you to figure this stuff out," Dean said, standing and helping me to my feet. I laughed.

"It was a hunch," I said.

"Yeah, but a good one." He said with a smile. He pushed open another door to the store room which led outside. We stepped out into the balmy evening air and started down the alleyway toward our motel, time to finish the job.

* * *

_**Motel**_

**Dean's POV**

Beth was still looking a little shaky and I glanced over at her, worried. I'd never seen anything quite like the effect these creatures had on us. Just the tiniest amount of blood had you reeling.

We entered back into Richie's motel room, and heard some groaning happening. With a grimace I looked at Beth and she pulled out the knife, drawing it across her arm again, coating it with fresh blood. Quietly we rounded the little foyer into the main room. Richie was sprawled out across the bed, and perched on top of him was Olivia. I stared at her as she rode the little man on the bed. She was all grace and elegance, sliding back and forth her long hair flipping about her shoulders. I swallowed, and Beth shook me, indicating with a nod that she was going to circle around, handing me the knife.

Richie looked euphoric, but then I noticed he was fading, his skin turning ashen before my very eyes. She was riding him hard, sucking the very life from him as we watched, obviously she'd found a way to heal herself, and we'd returned not a moment too soon. I stepped forward, and she heard me, turning bright blue eyes to stare.

"Dean..." she said, freezing, and then she smiled seductively. "Why don't you join us?"

"Yeah, uh, no thanks," I responded, shaking my head.

"Your little friend here decided to see reason, help me heal that nasty stab wound" she said, glancing down at Richie who was smiling at her and lost to his own passions. He was moaning, and reached out to fondle her breasts, she batted his hands away impatiently.

"Not usually my style," she said to me, looking me up and down. "You however..."

I revealed the knife in my hand. She stopped and looked at it. Richie groaned, writhing in agony at the withdrawal of her attentions.

She moved quickly. Faster than I expected. One moment she was on the bed, the next she was beside me, her hands pushing me up against the wall, forcing the silver knife from my hand. She leaned in and bit me on the neck, hard, drawing blood. A bite to her own lip drew blood and she leaned in.

Beth took that moment to stab her in the back with the knife that Olivia had discarded on the floor. Olivia reeled back, gasping in surprise. I pushed her head away to avoid the blood, and propelled her on to the bed, face first, holding her down at the back of her neck as she started to writhe, her skin turning scaled and hard. I held her until she stopped moving.

Richie struggled to his senses, climbing backwards on the bed.

"You checked in under a fake name, right?" I asked Richie, and he nodded, spellbound by the sight.

"Time to get packing then dude." I said, throwing him the pants off the floor. He looked at us, stuttering and unsure.

"What... how?" He stuttered, looking back and forth between the succubus and us.

"Man, I'm telling you, you are not cut out for this work Richie, it's gonna get you killed. Go home, live a normal life." I said, grabbing my silver knife off the carpet and looking over at Beth.

She was staring at her blood soaked hands. I sighed, remembering the time I'd had to stop her from scrubbing away her very skin after the demon possessing her had used her body to kill her father. She had been like Lady Macbeth, unable to get the blood out.

"Beth," I said gently, and she looked up at me. "Come on."

She nodded, and started to walk toward me. I put my arm around her and led her to the door.

"Remember what I said Richie, no more hunting," I said and I glanced out into the hallway to make sure no one was coming before opening our own room and leading Beth inside.

I put her straight in the shower, she was shivering and scratching at her skin like bugs were crawling under it.

"God, what's wrong with me?" She said, scrubbing at her hands.

I bit my lip, I didn't like the answer that was coming. "You're in withdrawal," I said, and she looked up at me.

"Withdrawal... from what?" She asked, her eyes looking deadly serious.

"Have a guess," I said with a grin.

"Oh, ick, oh … just... god! Dammit my holidays always get ruined," she wailed, sinking to the floor of the shower stall. I turned the taps off and wrapped a towel around her.

"Well, if it passes anywhere near as quickly as it's come on... we'll still have time to go to Miami," I said. "Right now I have to get us to a new motel." I pulled her up, and she was scratching at her arm again. I held her hand and wrapped a small towel around it. "Stop, try not to, okay?" She nodded and sighed as I towelled her off, and then returned to get her something to wear.

I grabbed a simple dress from her bag, slipping it over her and then helping her into some underwear. Good enough. She was towelling off her hair to keep herself busy, eyes looking a little freaked out.

When we got to the new motel, she grabbed me, kissing me with an urgent hunger, and reluctantly I pulled her back. "It's only going to make things worse," I said, and she groaned.

"Please Dean, I can't stand it," she said, running her hands along my chest. "Just kiss me, nothing more, just give me something to take the edge off. I'm too tired to do anything else anyway," she said with a smile. I laughed and shook my head at her.

"Seductress," I said, moving in to take her face in my hands, brushing my lips across hers.

"Mhmmm," she murmured, pulling me back on to the bed. I lay beside her, looking down at those big brown eyes and smiling.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" I asked her, and she smiled.

"Mmmm, well that feels nice to hear, what else?" She asked.

I grinned, kissing her with each word. "Funny, intelligent, inspirational, considerate, graceful, super, super sexy..." she giggled when I said that.

I kissed her as if she was a delicate flower that might fall apart at any moment, nothing sexual about it at all, just loving her, cherishing the feel of her lips under mine. She sighed contentedly. "Wow..." She whispered, smiling up at me.

"I love you," she said softly, watching me as I stared down at her. I saw her eyes flutter and she yawned. "Will you hold me while I sleep?"

I nodded, kissing her forehead. She slipped under the covers of the bed and I kicked off my shoes and pants snuggling in behind and pulling her close.

"Get some rest," I said, kissing the back of her neck, thinking to myself about how never in my life had I chosen sleep over sex, but there was always a first time for everything.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter is: _You're Making Me _by Toni Braxton

* * *

This was supposed to be a short piece and just kept going and going and going... like a damn energizer bunny!

* * *

Nothing is sort of grabbing at me right now so I have no idea what's getting posted next. But it'll likely be whatever is next in the series...maybe.

* * *

I know Supernatural Wiki said Richie started hunting after this encounter and meeting Dean, but I decided on a different route :)

* * *

Oh, I kind of had Olivia Wilde (as a blonde) pictured for the succubus :)

* * *

Hope you enjoyed the story :)


	8. Bedtime Stories

_Swallow me under and pull me apart__**  
**__I understand, there's nothing left__**  
**__Pain so familiar and close to the heart__**  
**__No more, no less, I won't forget_

_Come back down, save yourself__**  
**__I can't find my way to you__**  
**__And I can't bear to face the truth_

_Sing something new__**  
**__I have nothing left__**  
**__I can't face the dark without you__**  
**__There's nothing left to lose__**  
**__The fight never ends__**  
**__I can't face the dark without you_

* * *

**BEDTIME STORIES**

* * *

_**Impala**_

I felt like banging my head on the window I was currently leaning my forehead against. The cold glass was helping ease the headache that was forming behind my eyes as I listened to Dean and Sam argue, yet again, in the front seat.

"I don't understand, Dean. Why not?!" Sam asked, sighing in frustration at our brother.

"Because I said so," Dean argued in a tone that was final. Sam never took much notice of the tone.

"We've got the Colt now!" Sam said, and Dean looked over at him with a warning look.

"Sam..." he said, his voice low, he was clearly trying not to start yelling at our little brother.

"We can summon the Crossroads Demon..." Sam started.

"We're not summoning anything," Dean interrupted.

"... pull the gun on her and force her to let you out of the deal!" Sam finished over the top of Dean.

"We don't even know if that'll work!" Dean countered.

"Well then we'll just shoot her!" Sam said without missing a beat. "If she dies then the deal goes away!"

"We don't know if that'll work either, Sam! All you're pitching me right now is a bunch of 'ifs' and 'maybes' and that's not good enough," Dean said loudly, staring at the road ahead. "Because if we screw with this deal you die, and Beth goes to Hell!"

"And if we don't screw with it, you die!" Sam said angrily.

"Sam, enough! I am not going to have this conversation," Dean said with a finality to his voice.

"Why, because you said so?" Sam argued,

"Yes! Because I said so!" Dean yelled.

"Cut it out you guys," I said from the back, they completely ignored me.

"Well, you're not Dad!" Sam yelled back at Dean.

"Sam!" I yelled, he looked back at me with a frown. Before turning to stare at Dean who was looking at him.

"No, but I am the oldest," Dean said loudly, "And I'm doing what's best. And you're going to let this go, you understand me?!"

"Sam," I said, leaning forward and squeezing his shoulder. "Sam, just let it go, okay?" I looked at him with sympathetic eyes. I knew what he was going through, but there was no getting through to Dean, he simply wasn't going to budge.

Sam stared at me for a few moments, shaking his head, swallowing back words as he shoved his anger down.

Dean watched us, and sighed. "Tell me about the psychotic killer," he said, changing the subject. Sam stared out the window, angry.

"C'mon, Sam, tell me about the psychotic killer," he said quietly, trying to smooth over the argument. Sam sighed and picked up the paper in his lap.

"Psychotic killer... rips victims apart with brute-like ferocity," he said in a monotone voice.

"Okay, any mention of his razor sharp teeth or his four-inch claws? Animal eyes?" Dean asked.

"No," Sam said quietly. "But the lunar cycle's right," he said a little sulkily. "Look, if it a werewolf, we don't have long, moon's full this Friday and that's the last time it changes for a month." He stared out the window, clearly annoyed at Dean still.

"Two days," Dean said with a nod. "No sweat."

* * *

_**Hospital  
Maple Springs, New York**_

_**The Next Day**_

I leaned against the wall just inside the hospital room while Dean and Sam went in to interview the victim, Kyle.

They held up their badges and then returned them to their suit pockets when Kyle looked satisfied with their credentials. He was in bed covered in bandages and scrapes. He looked as if he'd had a run-in with a lawnmower.

"I'm Detective Plant, this is Detective Page," he said gesturing to Sam, before looking over at me. "And Detective Jones," he added. I waved from my spot by the door.

"We're with the County Sheriff's Department," I said to Kyle.

"Yeah, uh, I've been expecting you," he said to us.

"You have?" Dean asked, surprised. That would have to be a first.

"All morning. You are the sketch artist, right?" Kyle asked and I frowned.

"Uh..." Sam started, looking around.

"Absolutely," Dean said confidently.

"Yeah," Sam replied, quietly.

"Yeah. That is exactly who my partner is. The things he can do with a pen," Dean said with a chuckle. I stifled my own giggle and shook my head while Sam glared at Dean.

"But listen, before we get started on that, I wanted to ask you, uh, how'd you get away?" Dean queried.

"I – I have no idea. I was hiding, and he found me. He was coming right for me, and then he just stopped. Staring at me with this blank look. And after that he just took off running."

"Okay. Um, I'm going to need as much physical detail as you can remember," Sam said, pulling a notebook out of his jacket, starting to sketch. I raised an eyebrow, curious. Did Sam take art lessons or something in college? Because I sure didn't remember him being able to draw.

"Uh, yeah. He's about six feet tall..." Kyle said.

"Six feet..." Sam nodded, starting to draw in his notepad.

"Dark hair," said the man, and Sam nodded. Dean was looking at the sketch, frowning.

"Umm, what about his eyes, what colour eyes did he have?" Sam asked.

"Maybe... blue?" Kyle said, uncertainly.

"Blue?" Sam asked.

"It was dark," he said with a shrug.

"Did they seem..." Dean cleared his throat. "Uh, animal-ish?"

"Excuse me?" Kyle asked, looking at Dean in confusion.

"What about his teeth? You notice anything strange about 'em?" Sam pressed.

"No," Kyle said, shaking his head. "They were just teeth."

"Teeth," Sam said. "Okay." Drawing some more in the notepad.

"How about his fingernails?" Dean asked and I frowned, the guy looked like he was about to freak out.

"Look, he's – he's just a normal guy, with normal eyes and … and normal teeth and fingernails!" He said, gesturing with his hands and frowning.

"Look, sir, it's okay if..." Sam was interrupted by the man in the bed.

"No! No. Those were my brothers. This guy, he – he killed my brothers. How would you feel?" He asked, and I swallowed at the question, looking at _my two brothers _standing next to him.

"I couldn't think of anything worse," Sam said quietly, echoing my sentiments exactly. Dean glanced over at Sam before looking back at Kyle.

"I know this isn't easy, but if you could remember any more details," he prompted.

"There was one more thing, he had a tattoo on his arm of a cartoon character. It's, uh, it's the guy who's chasing the Roadrunner ..."

"Wile E. Coyote!" Dean said with a grin, pointing at Kyle.

"Yeah, that's it." Kyle nodded and Dean looked pleased with himself. I smiled, it was the simple things that made me love that man, his pure delight in something like recognising a cartoon character, it made him so damn cute.

A doctor appeared by me in the doorway. "Kyle?" He asked.

"Dr. Garrison," Kyle said, looking over at him.

"How are you holding up?" The doctor asked, advancing into the room.

"Okay, considering," Kyle answered.

"You're Kyle's doctor?" Dean asked of the man.

"Yes?" He replied and Dean held up his badge.

"Can I just ask you a few questions?" Dean queried. Dr Garrison nodded, and they left the room. I walked up to Sam, placing my hand at his back and he smiled.

"Don't I get to see it?" Kyle asked, pointing at Sam's notebook.

"Uh, yeah," Sam said, looking a little nervous. "Yeah, yeah, um, yeah it's a, you know... work in progress."

Sam held out his notebook and Kyle looked at it. I glanced over and stifled a laugh, it looked like Ben had drawn it, more or less a stick figure of a guy with a tattoo.

Kyle looked up at Sam, raising his eyebrow and clearly trying to be supportive. "It's really... really .. huh." He said, speechless, and handed it back to Sam with a smile.

"Well, thank you for your time, if you think of anything else, please give us a call," I said to Kyle, handing over one of our cards with our numbers.

* * *

_**Outside Hospital**_

Dean was chuckling at Sam's drawing, shaking his head.

"Boy, this is a piece of art. Really," he said and Sam snatched the notebook back with a glare.

"Yeah, like you could've done any better. So what did the Doc have to say about Kyle's brothers?" He asked.

"Not much, they were D.O.A at the scene. He did give me the low-down on the Coroner's report."

"Let me guess, their hearts were missing?" Sam asked.

"Nope," Dean said with a sigh.

"But chunks of their kidneys, lungs and intestines were." I looked at him with a frown.

"That's just gross!" I said, shuddering at the image.

"Yeah, also definitely not werewolf behaviour," Dean said with a nod.

"So, what? Demon? Attacker could have been possessed," I suggested, thinking about the possibilities.

"Why would a demon stop halfway through an attack?" Dean asked. I frowned, that was a very good question.

"Maybe... well..." I shook my head and shrugged.

"I think that, uh... could've... yeah. I got nothing," Sam added and Dean nodded.

"Me neither."

Well, so far we had a big fat zero on ideas. _Great._

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

Sam had gone on the food run while Dean was taking a shower. I was on police scanner duty because it was about as good a lead as we had on what was going on around here.

Suddenly there was a call that went out over the scanner. A couple had been attacked in the woods by... of all things, a little old lady. The man was dead, and the woman was being taken to the hospital.

I jumped up, heading into the bathroom where Dean was belting out a tune. He looked at me through the steamed up glass and started singing _Hungry Eyes _using the shampoo bottle as a microphone. _"I been meaning to tell you, I've got this feelin' that won't subside... I look at you and I fantasize... you're mine tonight!" _I laughed and walked over, pressing a kiss up to the glass.

"Cute," I said with a raised eyebrow. He grinned and opened the door to the shower.

"_I've got.. hungryyyyy eyes! One look at you and I can't disguise..." _He tried to grab me but I backed away shaking my head.

"Okay Romeo, come on, we gotta go," I said with a grin. He looked at me disappointedly.

"Serious?" He asked, the humour fading from his eyes.

"Yup, granny just went psycho on a couple in the woods," I said. "They're bringing in the woman to the hospital now."

"Damn," he said with a sigh, putting down the shampoo bottle. "Sam back? Because you know, we might have time..." Dean's thought process was interrupted by the sound of the motel door opening and Sam announcing he was back. "Damn!" He cursed again, throwing his hands in the air.

I chuckled and tossed him a towel, taking a moment to admire the view before leaving him to get dressed.

* * *

_**Hospital**_

A couple of sheriffs were exiting the room of the victim, Julie Watson, when we arrived. We all turned away and tried to look inconspicuous until they were gone, and then Dean led the way down to the room, not stopping to check in with the nurse's station. Julie, a young woman in her twenties was begging the doctor to be released.

"Please, please," she said, crying and trying to get out of bed.

"We have to observe you while the drugs still might be in your system," Dr Garrison was saying to her.

"I have to go. I have things to do, arrangements to make," she said, distraught.

"It can wait. Now you need to rest," Dr Garrison said. "Stay. I'll be back in a few minutes."

The Doctor turned and saw us standing in the doorway, and with a sigh he approached us. "Detectives..."

"Dr Garrison," Dean said with a nod.

"What the Hell is going on here? My whole town is going insane," he asked us.

"We'll let you know as soon as we do," I said to him gently. The doctor nodded and walked away, leaving us to enter the room.

I led the way in, pulling out my badge. "Ms Watson? Hi. We just need to ask you a few questions if that's okay?" I asked. She looked up at me, tears in her eyes, clearly upset.

"Do we have to go over this again, now?" She asked.

"We'll try to be brief," Sam answered, giving her the puppy dog look. "Can you tell us how you got away?"

Julie nodded. "I didn't eat as much as Ken did, so I wasn't as out of it. And, when the old woman was... carving Ken, I shoved her and she fell. Cracked her head on the stove." She paused, looking up at us. "She's dead right? I – I killed her?"

"Do you have any idea why she did this to you?" Dean asked.

"No!" Julie said, starting to cry. "One minute she was a sweet old lady, and the next she was, like, a monster!"

"Can you remember anything else?" I asked gently.

Julie stopped to think, nodding at me eventually. "Um, yeah. Did you find a little girl there, by any chance?" She asked.

"A little girl? At the house?" I asked, looking up at Dean and Sam. They both looked as surprised as I felt.

"I thought I saw her outside the window. She just disappeared. Just vanished, into thin air," Julie said, wringing her hands together. "It must've been the drugs," she said absently.

"This disappearing girl," Dean interjected. "What'd she look like?"

Julie looked confused at him. "Does it matter?"

"Yes," Sam answered. "Every detail matters."

She sighed, looking out the window before turning back to speak directly at me. "She had this dark, dark hair and really pale skin. She was around eight? She was a beautiful child, it was... odd to see her in the middle of something so horrible." I frowned and nodded.

We thanked her for her time, passing on our condolences, and then made our way out to the car.

"Right, time to check out the old lady's house," Dean said decisively, getting in to the driver's seat.

* * *

_**Old Lady's Home**_

The house was small and open planned, the kitchen fed into the dining and living area, all part of one large room. Dean was checking out the kitchen while Sam and I were in the living room. "Well, there's no sulphur anywhere, how about the EMF?" He asked, looking over at us.

"Yeah, it's going nuts. Right over here by the window," Sam said. "There's definitely a spirit here."

"Who stood outside the crime scene and watched," Dean said with a disturbed look on his face.

"Looks like," I said, crossing my arms and frowning at the window. Julie had been right, it was a very strange place and situation to find a beautiful young child.

"What the hell do you make of that?" Dean asked me and I shrugged.

"Actually, I have a theory, sort of," Sam said, looking over at us.

"Hit me," Dean said, nodding.

"Well, thinking about fairy tales," Sam said. Dean smirked and came over to lean against me, shoulder to shoulder, giving me a playful shove.

"Oh, that's – that's nice. You think about fairy tales often?" Dean asked Sam with a grin.

"No, Dean I'm talking about the murders. A guy and a girl? Hiking through the woods, an old lady tries to eat them?" He rolled his eyes at Dean and looked at me.

I nodded, seeing where he was going with it. "Hansel and Gretel," I answered, and Sam nodded. Dean gave me a look that more or less seemed to ask just whose side was I on – either I was teasing Sam or I was one of the nerds. Today it was Team Nerd it seemed.

"Then we got three brothers arguing over how to build houses, attacked by the Big Bad Wolf," he said, this time looking at Dean.

"Three Little Pigs," Dean said with a frown.

"Yeah." Sam said. Dean turned to me with a grin.

"Actually, those guys were a little chubby," he said and I rolled my eyes. "Well wait, I thought those things ended with uh, everyone living happily ever after?"

"No, no, not the originals," Sam said, shaking his head. "See the Grimm brothers stuff was kind of the folklore of it's day – full of sex, violence, cannibalism. Now, it got sanitised over the years, turned into Disney flicks and bedtime stories."

I nodded, remembering some of the stories my mother used to tell me.

"So you think the murders are what? A re-enactment? That's a little crazy." Dean said, raising an eyebrow.

"Crazy as what? Every day of our lives?" I asked, looking at him with a sigh.

Dean frowned. "Touché," he said with a nod. He looked back at Sam. "How's the creepy ghost girl involved?" He asked, starting to gather our things back into the bag we'd brought with us.

"Um, well, she must've been here for a reason," Sam said. "I'm willing to bet you top dollar she was at the construction site too."

Dean zipped up the bag and looked at Sam with a grimace. "We gotta do research now, don't we?"

Sam shrugged at him and Dean closed his eyes. Dean hated research, I had a feeling I was likely to be the one doing our fair share, it was usually the case.

* * *

_**County Central Library**_

Dean had left me a good hour ago, bored and needing some air. I stretched and shut the computer off in front of me. When I exited the library, Dean and Sam were waiting for me, leaning against a brick retaining wall.

"So?" Dean asked, looking at me.

"I checked every record they had," I said as we all started walking away. "Found the usual amount of violent childhood deaths for a town this size." We crossed the road to the park.

"Okay," Sam said with a nod.

"Have a guess how many were little girls with black hair and pale skin?" I asked, skipping ahead of them and turning to face them as I walked backwards keeping their pace.

"Zero?" Dean asked, and I grinned.

"Bingo! You want to know how many little girls with black hair and pale skin have gone missing?" I looked at them expectantly, coming to a stop as we reached the grassy area of the park.

"Zero?" Sam asked with a smile.

"Right again. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Please tell me you've got something good because we just totally wasted the last six hours in there," I said to Sam.

Sam started walking and I turned to join them as we followed the path. "Well, you ever hear of Lillian Bailey? She was a British medium from the 1930s," Sam said. I shook my head, shrugging.

"She got a thing for fairy tales?" Dean asked.

"No, trances. See she'd go into these unconscious states where, um, get this, her thoughts and actions were completely controlled by spirits," Sam said, shaking his head.

"A ghost puppet master," Dean stated and Sam nodded.

"Yeah." He said.

"You think that's what this kid is doing?" Dean asked. "Sending wolfboy and grandma into trances, making them go kill-crazy?"

"Could be," Sam said. "You know, kind of like a spirit hypnosis or something."

"Trances I get," I said, "But fairy tale trances? That's bizarre, even for us."

A croaking noise drew our attention to our feet and we stopped walking. Sitting in the middle of the path was a bullfrog.

"Yeah, you're right that's completely normal," Sam said with a smirk.

The bullfrog croaked at us again and again, like it was just sitting and watching us. Dean glanced over at Sam.

"All right, maybe it is fairy tales. Totally, messed-up fairy tales. But I tell you one thing, there's no way I'm kissing a damn frog!" He shuddered, looking slightly disturbed by the idea.

"Hey, check that out," Sam said suddenly, pointing to a house across the road. There was a pumpkin sitting on the porch.

"Yeah?" Dean asked, confused. "It's close to Halloween."

"What? Do you remember Cinderella?" Sam asked, looking more at me than Dean. "The pumpkin that turns into a coach and the mice that become horses?" He pointed at a couple of mice scuttling along the porch.

I nodded and Dean looked at Sam with a raised eyebrow. "Dude, could you be more gay?" He asked. Sam gave Dean an amused look and Dean shook his head. "Don't answer that," he said, looking back at the house.

We crossed the road and knocked, no one answered the door. With a glance, Sam picked the lock and we entered the cosy looking house.

"Well who knows, maybe you'll find your fairy godmother?" Dean chuckled to me and I rolled my eyes at him. I followed Dean down a hallway while Sam headed to another section of the house. There was a noise that echoed from the back of the house and we all glanced at each other, drawing our guns.

Dean closed the front door and we systematically moved from the front of the house through to the back, searching each room we came to.

There was another noise and Dean motioned Sam to go ahead while we covered.

"Help! I'm in here!" A girl's voice sounded and Sam moved quickly through a little foyer into the kitchen.

"Hey, hey," Sam said, kneeling down beside a young girl who was handcuffed to the oven. "It's okay, we're here, we got you." Sam opened his lock pick kit to grab the right pick for the handcuffs.

"You have to help me, she's a lunatic," the girl said, whimpering.

"What happened?" I asked, crouching behind Dean.

"My stepmom, she just freaked out, screamed at me, beat me. Chained me up," she said.

"Where is she now?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," the girl said. I looked up, spotting movement out of the corner of my eye and saw a young girl looking at us through the kitchen door, she had the same dark hair that Watson had described.

"Dean!" I whispered urgently. He and Sam both looked up, seeing the girl at the same time. The girl turned and walked away, I got up and followed her, losing her momentarily as I moved through the dining room into the foyer. The girl was waiting for me in the living room, and when she saw me she calmly walked out of sight, I swallowed and followed her nervously. By the time I got there she was gone. I looked around and then got the prickly sensation I often got when someone was watching me. I spun around and the girl was standing right in front of me.

"Who are you?" I asked, glancing over to see Dean enter the room from behind her. The girl was silent, watching me, then she flickered and vanished right before our eyes. I looked at Dean, surprised. Dean frowned, moving forward and when I looked down he was reaching for a red apple that had appeared on the rug. He stood up, holding it, and looked at me confused.

"What the hell?" He asked, I shrugged, crossing my arms and staring at the apple, surprised at the memories it was bringing up in me.

* * *

_**Beth's Bedroom**_

_**18 years ago  
(Just before Beth's 8**__**th**__** Birthday)**_

**Grace's POV**

The tiny little girl in my lap stared intently at the fairy tale book I was holding, her finger brushing over the pictures on the page. We were almost finished with the story, coming up to her favourite part.

"_The dwarfs, meanwhile, wept and wept over Snow White. She looked so pretty even in death that they did not have the heart to bury her. So they built a casket of glass, and placed her in it, and set the casket upon a ledge of rock in the forest. One of the dwarfs always remained by the casket, watching." _I read out the words as Ella turned the pages of the book, smiling as she saw the prince on a horse appear.

"_One day a prince came riding by on a white horse, and seeing the beautiful maiden lying as though asleep in the casket, he fell in love with her._

_'Give me the casket,' he said to the dwarfs. 'I cannot live without Snow White, and will take good care of her as long as I live.'" _Ella smiled, leaning back against me.

"_The dwarves could not bare to part with Snow White and refused the prince. The prince became sad and knelt by the glass case, looking at the dwarves. 'Can I at least kiss her?' He said to them, and they felt so sorry for him that they agreed, and took off the glass cover. _

"_The prince knelt by Snow White and stared lovingly at her before leaning down and placing a kiss on her lips. This was no ordinary kiss, it was the kiss of true love. Snow White opened, and everyone looked at her in surprise. She smile at the Prince, falling in love at first sight._

"_'Will you marry me and be my wife Snow White? I will love you and take care of you for as long as I live." The Prince said. Snow White could not have been more in love with the Prince, and they were married the very next day, and lived happily ever after." _

Ella looked at the book, as she always did and sighed.

"I hope I find my Prince Charming one day," she said, and I smiled at her, brushing her hair back from her face.

"I'm sure you will my love," I kissed her gently on the forehead and climbed off the bed, settling her back in against the pillows and tucking her in. I sat beside her again and smiled.

"He won't be riding a white horse though," Ella declared and I raised an eyebrow.

"No?" I asked.

"No, I think he will be riding a black one," she said and I smiled, looking up at her father who had just come to the door.

"A black horse?" Patrick asked, looking in on us.

Ella smiled and nodded. Patrick grinned and came in to join us, resting his hand on my shoulder.

"Any reason he'll be riding a black horse?" Patrick asked, winking at me.

"So I'll be able to recognise him, of course, if all the other princes are riding white horses, I'll know he's not the one for me." Ella said with a big smile. "It'll be a special horse."

"Of course," I said with a smile, kissing her again on the forehead. "Well you better get some rest then, if you're going to be on the look out for this black horse and Prince Charming." She smiled and nodded, snuggling in with her teddy bear.

"Daddy?" Ella asked, looking over at Patrick.

"Yes, sweetheart?" he asked.

"Does God always make sure we find our true love?" She asked, and Patrick turned back to nod at her.

"Of course Bethie. You just have to keep praying and believing," he answered and I nodded.

"And does God make sure we all live happily ever after?" She asked, I frowned, _what was with all these questions? _

Patrick gave her a beaming smile that would melt the coldest heart. "God loves us, and wants us to be happy, and sometimes sad things happen. But even through all the bad things there is always light at the end, we just have to have faith. Don't worry about these things Bethie, you'll get to it all in due time." He kissed her and turned off the light, the room was lit up with a small night light and Ella sighed.

"I can't wait to meet my Prince Charming," she said happily, rolling over with a smile. I looked at her, a heaviness in my heart – the angels said she had big things to accomplish in life, and not all of them would be pleasant. I wished there was a way that I could protect her from all the evil life could throw our way, but it was impossible.

Somehow, we had to just prepare her in faith, teach her to believe in her angels and that they are always watching over her, and trust that it would be enough to see her through in the darkest hours.

Patrick wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to the door. We looked back on our little girl, almost asleep already, smiling happily and dreaming about a man on a black horse. I only hoped one day she found him, and that he was worthy of such devotion.

* * *

_**Outside "Cinderella" House  
**__**Present Day**__**  
**_

**Beth's POV**

Dean was sitting on the hood of the Impala while I leaned against a street sign nearby, we were tossing the apple back and forth to each other waiting for Sam.

"You okay?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, sure. Why?" I questioned.

"You've been kind of quiet since we saw ghosty girl back there," he said with a slight frown, tossing me the apple again.

Sam walked up and I threw him the apple which he caught with a raised eyebrow.

"Paramedics picked up Cinderella," he said, looking at us both.

"That's good," Dean said with a nod.

"Yeah," Sam said, looking at the apple.

"So... little girl, shiny red apple. I'm guess that means something to you, fairy tale boy?" Dean said with a smirk.

"It's Snow White," I said, before Sam could answer. Dean looked at me surprised.

"Snow White?" He said, his expression turning cheeky. "Ah I saw that movie. Oh the porn version anyway. There was this wicked Stepmother? Woo... she was wicked," he said, pulling me in to him with a grin. I rolled my eyes at him and Sam snorted, shaking his head.

"There is a wicked stepmother. And she tries to kill Snow White with a poisoned apple," I said, biting my lip.

"But the apple doesn't actually kill the girl right?" Dean asked.

"No. Puts her in a deep sleep, so deep it's almost like she's dead," Sam answered, and Dean looked curious at that. He kissed me on the cheek and then slid across the hood of the car to the driver side.

"Yee haw, let's go then!" He said, landing on his feet and turning to open the door.

"Go where?" I asked, watching him and he turned and grinned.

"You'll see."

* * *

_**Hospital**_

"No, sorry. We don't have any comatose little girls," the Nurse said to us at the nurse's station. Dean looked disappointed, he had been certain he had cracked the case.

"You sure?" He asked with a frown.

"Totally. It's mostly old guys. And well... Callie. She's been around since before I started here." She said thoughtfully.

"Callie?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"Yeah, it's so sad. And poor Dr Garrison he just won't give up on her," she said with a shake of her head.

"Is Callie one of his patients?" Sam asked curiously.

"No, his daughter," she answered. We all exchanged a look and the nurse went to answer a phone.

A few minutes later we were outside Callie's room. Before us lay a beautiful young lady, no longer a child, but still dressed as if one. She was in a white night gown and her hair was brushed down around her shoulders falling straight and black, just like Snow White. Dr Garrison was sitting by the side of her bed reading from a book – _The Complete Works and Tales of The Brothers Grimm. _

"...and the Huntsman stepped inside, and in the bed lay the Wolf. So the Huntsman took a pair of scissors and cut open the Wolf's belly," Dr Garrison read, and I grimaced. I hated this story.

Dr Garrison noticed us standing in the doorway and looked up, clearing his throat. He closed the book, touching Callie's arm affectionately before approaching us. "Detectives. Can I help you?" He asked.

"We just... heard that Callie is your daughter," Dean said.

"And we wanted to say how very sorry we are," I finished for him while Sam nodded beside me.

Dr Garrison nodded at us. "Well, uh. Thank you. If you'll excuse me."

"Oh, heading this way?" Dean asked as the doctor brushed past us and down the hallway. "We'll walk with you. How long has Callie been like that?" He said, getting directly to the point.

"We don't mean to intrude, we can't possibly understand how hard it must be for you seeing her like this," Sam interjected, turning on his puppy dog eyes.

"It's not easy," Dr Garrison said, taking off his glasses which he'd been using to read with. "She's uh, been here since she was eight years old."

"That's when she was poisoned?" Sam guessed, and Dr. Garrison nodded.

"Yes. Swallowed bleach. Never figured out how she got her hands on the bottle. My wife found her, uh, brought her to the ER here and I was on call." I lagged behind and listened as the boys questioned the doctor.

"Your wife was uh, was that Callie's stepmother?" Dean asked, now right into the flow of things.

Dr Garrison stopped walking and looked at Dean. "Actually, yes. How'd you know that?" He asked.

Dean shrugged and looked a little sheepish. "Lucky guess." The doctor nodded, looking down at the floor.

"Well, Julie was the only mother that uh, Callie ever knew. My wife passed away last year, and uh, it's just my daughter and me now. She's all I got left." He paused. "Um, excuse me I've got to get back to work."

The doctor walked off and we headed in another direction.

"Well, you're right. It's Snow White in spades," Dean said, suddenly the expert in the story.

"Yep, stepmom poisons the girl, puts her into a deep sleep. What's the motive you think?" Sam asked.

"Could be like Mischa Barton," Dean said, clarifying when Sam and I raised our eyebrows at him. "Sixth Sense, not the O.C."

Sam looked confused. "What?"

"Hey, you know fairy tales, I know movies," Dean said with a grin. "She played the pasty ghost. You know, the uh, remember the mom had that thing you know?" He looked at me for a little help. "Where you keep the kid sick so you get all the attention?"

"Yeah, Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy," I said.

Sam looked thoughtful. "Huh, could be," he said with a shrug.

"So say all these years Callie's been suffering silently because nobody knows the truth about what mommy dearest did?"

"And after all this time her spirit just gets angrier and angrier, until it finally just starts lashing out." I said with a nod.

"Right," Dean said, coming to a stop in the hospital waiting room. "Meanwhile she has to listen to Dad tell her these deranged stories about a rabid wolf or a cannibalistic old lady, it's enough to drive anybody nuts."

"Okay," Sam said, in complete agreement. "But how are we gonna stop her, I mean Callie's stuck here, her father's keeping her body alive."

"It does make it a bit hard to burn the bones," I said with a raised eyebrow.

"You think?" Sam asked with a grin.

"Coming in!" Someone shouted behind us, and the emergency doors swung open. We watched as the paramedics brought in an old lady on a stretcher.

"Okay, what's her status?" A doctor asked, going up to the stretcher.

"Seventy-two year old female, sustained multiple lacerations and puncture wounds. BP is eighty over forty and falling. Sinus tachycardia," the paramedic said.

"Is that a bite?" The doctor asked, looking at the woman's neck.

"Looks like she was mauled by a mad dog or, maybe a wolf?" The second paramedic said

"What was the last story Dr Garrison was reading Callie?" Dean asked.

"Little Red Riding Hood," I answered, swallowing.

Ten minutes later the lady was dead, and I was watching the paramedic shaking his head with a sigh as he looked over paperwork. I pulled out my badge and approached him.

"Excuse me," I asked, flashing him my badge. "Was she the only victim?" I asked, pointing to the body of the woman, now covered in a sheet.

He nodded. "She was found by the side of the road, barely alive. Alone."

"We need to find her next of kin," I said.

"Yeah, she has a granddaughter," he answered.

"Do you have an address?" Dean asked from behind me.

The paramedic nodded and handed a sheet of paper to him.

"Thank you," I said, taking one last look at the woman on the table. I shook my head. I hated fairy tales.

Dean stopped on his way out the door and looked back at Sam and me.

"Hey, you guys find a way to stop Callie, all right?" He said, and I frowned.

"Well, what are you going to do?" I asked, biting my lip.

"I'm gonna go stop the Big Bad Wolf," he said, pausing as he realised what he had just said. "Which is the weirdest thing I've ever said." He started to walk away and I ran after him.

"Dean..." I said, he paused looking back at me questioningly. "Just, be careful, okay?" He smiled and pulled me in for a quick kiss.

"I'm always careful," he said with a grin, which had me rolling my eyes. "Help Sam, okay?" I nodded and let him go, staring as he walked across the road and jumped in the Impala, roaring off like a knight in shining armour to save the day. I shook my head at the image and Sam joined me, clearly thinking along the same lines.

"All that is missing is his white horse," he commented with a grin. I laughed, and looked up at him.

"Nah, every prince charming or knight rides a white horse. At least we know when it's him coming, hard to miss in the Impala." I said, shaking my head.

"That's true," Sam said with a short laugh.

"You know, when I was eight I told my mother that my prince charming would ride a black horse." I smirked, shaking my head. "Talk about childish dreams."

"Oh I don't know... the Impala comes pretty close to being Dean's black horse," Sam said with a chuckle.

I stared out the window and smiled. "Don't tell Dean, he's got a bit enough head as it is without declaring him my Prince Charming."

Sam smiled and put his arm around my shoulders. "Come on, let's go figure out how to kill Snow White."

* * *

_**Hospital**_

We went looking for Dr Garrison, finding him walking down a corridor reading through someone's chart.

"Dr Garrison!" Sam called out and we rushed to catch up with him.

"Detectives. What can I do for you?" Garrison asked us.

"Well, um. It's about Callie," I said gently, these conversations were never any fun to have, particularly when you knew you were going to sound nuts as soon as you got into it.

"My daughter? What about her?" Garrison asked, looking confused.

"You know, maybe we could sit down for a minute?" Sam asked. This only seemed to annoy the doctor.

"No. What about her?" He asked again.

"Okay," I said with a sigh, looking at Sam. "Well, um, all right. Doctor this isn't going to be easy to hear. But what happened to Callie, it wasn't an accident."

"Excuse me?" The doctor asked looking at us incredulously.

"I'm sorry, but it's true," I said, and just this once it would have been nice to have someone go '_Oh, really? I completely believe you, tell me more!' _I was, of course, going to be disappointed.

"You have no idea what happened to my daughter," Garrison said to us. He turned and started to walk away, we followed him, trying to convince him to listen.

"There are things you don't know Doctor, about your wife," Sam said.

"My wife?!" Garrison asked, frowning, but he kept walking.

"Doctor, your wife poisoned Callie," I said. Garrison stopped and turned back toward us.

"Why would you say something so horrible to me?" He asked.

"Because we need your help," Sam said.

We'd reached Callie's room, and Garrison glared at us. "You stay away from me, and my daughter, you understand?" He said, turning to go into the room. Sam tried to follow but he shut the door in our face.

Sam turned and sighed at me, opening the door and letting us in, closing it behind us. Garrison looked at us and then reached for an internal phone.

"I'm calling security," he said. Sam placed a hand over the phone, stopping him.

"No, listen. I don't have time to do this gently. If you don't listen to me more people are going to get hurt, because Callie is going to hurt them." Sam said, I cringed internally, I knew how it sounded: like we were insane.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Garrison asked, frowning.

"You're going to think we're crazy, but just understand this, doctor," I said, trying to placate the man a little. "Your daughter Callie is still here. She's a spirit."

Garrison looked at us, then over at Callie, a sad expression on his face. He sighed and turned back to us, sitting on the end of Callie's bed. "So you've seen her too?" He asked. You could have knocked me over with a feather.

"You've seen her?" I asked, flabbergasted, and Garrison nodded.

"I sensed her, Callie. Her presence, her scent. I even saw her standing at the foot of my bed, but I never... believed it. I thought I was dreaming." He said softly, staring over at his daughter.

"It wasn't a dream. She looks like she did when she was eight," I said, glancing at the girl. "White dress. Red ribbon in her hair. She's been trying to talk to you."

He looked at me, sadness in his eyes. "You guys aren't cops, are you?" He asked, looking from me to Sam.

"No, we're not," I said gently.

"Then who are you?" He asked.

"People who know a little about this kind of thing," Sam answered, and I nodded.

"But what you said about my wife poisoning Callie, that's..." he shook his head, not wanting to believe it.

"Sir. Callie told us," Sam said. It was never going to be an easy thing to hear.

"What?!" Garrison asked, looking up at him.

"Not in so many words, but in her own way. She told us." I said, walking around to look at the girl lying deathly still in the bed. She really did look like Snow White, it was uncanny. I shook my head at the thought, it was one of the oldest stories I knew, my mother had read it to me as a child.

"My wife loved Callie," Garrison said. "So how is – how is that possible?" He asked.

"I don't know," Sam answered. "But it is."

"No, no, I don't believe you," he said, going into denial.

"Doctor. Callie is killing people. She's angry. She's desperate, because nobody will listen to her," I said, looking at him. "So you have to listen to her. Please, listen to your daughter."

* * *

_**Grandmother's House**_

**Dean's POV**

I arrived at the house belonging to the most recent victim. It was the only place I could think to go. Kicking in the door, I moved inside, gun drawn, searching for signs of anyone being there. I shut the door behind me, and moved into the living room, it was dark and dusty, smelling of old lady.

A little girl in a red hoodie was crouched beside a bookshelf crying, she looked startled when I came into the room. I moved toward her, crouching down to her level.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," she nodded, and her eyes moved to something behind me. "Ah!" She screamed and I swung my gun around to face the danger. I wasn't fast enough, a big angry man knocked the gun from my hand, so I punched him. He grabbed me by my shirt, and I grimaced as I felt myself tossed through the air over a table and into a china cabinet. The sounds of breaking glass echoed around me as I felt sharp stinging in my back.

* * *

_**Hospital – Callie's Room**_

**Beth's POV**

Dr Garrison sat on the side of the bed, and started to talk to his daughter. "Callie? Callie it's Dad," he said, looking around. Nothing happened.

"Keep trying," I encouraged him, and he nodded.

"It's me, Daddy. Is it true? Did Mommy do that to you? I know I wasn't listening before, but I'm listening now. Daddy's here. Please honey, is there something you want to tell me?"

"Doctor.." Sam's voice interrupted the man and he glanced up. Callie's spirit had appeared next to the man.

He stared at her, stunned. He reached a hand out almost as if he couldn't believe she was there, and I realised that it was probably the first time in a long time he was seeing a living breathing image of his daughter. "Is it true?" He asked. Callie's spirit nodded at him.

Dr Garrison looked devastated, tears in his eyes as he talked to his daughter. "I'm so sorry baby," he said. "But listen to me. You gotta stop what you're doing okay? You're hurting people. I know everything now. I know the truth. It's time for you to let go." He paused, looking at the girl. "It's time for me to let you go."

He turned back to the bed and kissed Callie on the forehead, almost instantly her monitors began to flatline. I put my arm around Sam, tears in my eyes as I watched the girl pass on. Sam looked down at me, concerned, and put an arm around my shoulders. We stood there, unable to do or say anything that would make it better for the doctor. His daughter was dead, and she'd been all he had left.

* * *

_**Grandmother's House**_

**Dean's POV**

The guy I was fighting hoisted me to my feet and I fought to get a grip on him, tossing a few glancing blows across his ribs before he threw me to the floor again. I spotted a basket of knitting by the armchair I was next to, and a pair of silver toned scissors glinted at me. I grabbed them, finally I was armed again. The man advanced on me, pure rage in his eyes. I swung at him, missing and then punched him with my other hand, sending him flying into a bookcase which collapsed from the impact.

I stood, panting, looking at the guy, wondering what the hell was taking Sam and Beth so long? The man stood up and ran at me, tackling me to the floor. I tried to stab him with the scissors still in my hand, but he was strong and fighting me off. I rolled him on to his back, getting the upper hand, landing a blow across his face. He grunted and wrestled with me. I pulled back with the scissors in my hand, ready to stab him when he held out his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Whoa! Stop, stop! Whoa stop! Whoa! Where am I? What's going on?!" He said, looking around as if seeing the house for the first time. I gasped for air, and breathed a sigh of relief, lowering the scissors and climbing off the man. I was exhausted.

Almost immediately my phone started ringing and I sat back against the couch, reaching for it.

"Hey suparpie," I said, knowing it had to be Beth.

"_Hey, we did it, she's gone – did you find the guy?" _Beth's voice sounded tired and upset.

"Yeah, yeah – and not a moment too soon I might add, good job," I said.

"_Are you okay?" _She asked, listening to me catching my breath.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I'll see you soon, okay?" I said, she agreed and I hung up the phone, looking over at the man who was now sitting on the floor. How to explain this one to the cops? Poor bastard was in for a real hard time, I kind of felt for him.

* * *

_**Hospital**_

**Beth's POV**

Dean had joined us again as soon as they brought the little girl in to be checked over. We were standing by the nurses station when Dr Garrison joined us.

"And the girl's okay?" Garrison asked Dean, who nodded. The doctor sighed. "So, it's really over."

"Yeah. All thanks to you," Sam said with a smile.

"Callie was the most important thing in my life. But I should've let her go a long time ago." Dean looked over at Sam and me when he said that, I pretended not to notice. I didn't like the sentiment.

"See ya 'round Doc," Dean said with a smile.

"I sure hope not," Garrison said with a laugh, patting Dean on the shoulder before walking away.

"You know what he said?" Dean said, and I crossed my arms, looking over at Sam. "Some good advice."

Sam looked furious for the both of us, shaking his head. "Is that what you want us to do Dean? Just let you go?" He asked. I shook my head, I didn't want to get into this, not now. I felt like my heart was going to break. Dean looked at us, I couldn't even meet his eyes. Sam had tears in his eyes and Dean just walked away, not giving us an answer. I watched him go, tears building in my eyes, tears that I'd been fighting for so long.

Sam pulled me in for a hug and I held on to him tightly around the waist, sniffing everything back, shaking my head.

"It's okay, Beth," he said, trying to reassure me. But it wasn't. He knew it, I knew it, Dean knew it. There was no light at the end of the tunnel here, there was no happy ending.

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

**Dean's POV**

Beth and I had been arguing since we all got back to the motel. Sam had stepped out to give us some space, but he'd made it clear that he wholeheartedly agreed with everything coming out of Beth's mouth.

I was sitting on the bed, quietly watching as she tossed things around the room, her anger rolling off her in waves. I don't think I'd ever seen her this angry, other than the time when Sam had pulled her away from the angel garden she'd destroyed. I sighed, there was a pattern with Beth's anger, with her despair, and this one had been building for a few months now and I couldn't say I blamed her.

"Let you go? Just... let you go?!" She said for the umpteenth time, storming past me and starting to toss things in her duffel bag. "How about this Dean? You don't get to come into my life like a god damn knight in shining armour and save me, just to abandon me ten years later! It's not fair, and you don't get to just tell me to _let you go!" _She stopped suddenly, looking over at me as I stood up, reaching out a placating hand to her.

"Beth, now hold on a minute, I wasn't the one who went and made that deal with the crossroads demon," I said. _But I was the one who trumped it. _

"Oh don't you start with that," Beth said, flashing angry eyes at me. "That deal was better than any you were offered, and you know it. I'd have gladly paid it ten times over if it meant we had five more years. But now I'm stuck with this dread in my stomach every single day, and I look at you and all I see is a countdown to when I have to... I can't Dean, I can't do it, I can't …" I watched as she slid down the wall and landed in a heap on the floor, sighing and moving to sit next to her.

"There's no happy ending Dean, there's nothing, just pain and suffering. All my childhood my mother lied to me, where was her happy ending? Where is ours?" She said and I put an arm around her as she leaned in to me, burying her face in my neck and sobbing.

"Hey, come on," I said, swallowing back my own despair. "You have a long life ahead of you, won't even remember who I am in a few years. You'll find someone else and get a happy ending with them." It really wasn't the right thing to say, I watched as her mouth dropped open and yet more tears started falling from her eyes.

"How can you say that?" She asked, barely getting the words out. "Dean, if I can't have you I don't want anyone else." It broke my heart to listen to her, because it was the same reason I'd made the deal in the first place, a life without her was no life at all. Now there was nothing we could do to get out of this, not if I wanted to save her from an eternity of suffering.

"Sure, you say that now, but in three... four years... if you get out hunting, find a life..." I felt myself just digging the hole deeper, but I still couldn't manage to shut my cake hole.

She climbed over my legs, straddling my lap and looking at me. "You think this is a fling for me? You think I'm just going to pick up and move on the minute you're gone?" She looked at me with bleak eyes, already full of mourning and a broken heart. "I will never, _ever _get over you, I will mourn you until the day I die if we don't get you out of this deal."

I pulled her tightly against me, there was nothing to say to that and it was my worst fear of all, leaving her to a life that wasn't even worth living. I was really starting to curse my impulsiveness, the sheer idiocy of jumping in on that deal. If I'd just listened, stopped for one moment, we'd have five years to figure this out, not seven months.

"I'm sorry," I said finally and she sank into me, her sobs starting to subside. After a moment she pulled back, and I fought back the tears in my eyes as she looked at me, a new determination to her face.

"I'm going to save you Dean, I don't know how, but I am. I'll figure it out or I'll die trying. If you go to Hell, I will come for you, and I will find you, and I will drag you out of there myself. You don't get to tell me to move on, not when you know it's exactly the same thing you would do for me." She said calmly, and as I sat there holding her, I knew she meant every word.

"Okay," I said with a nod. "Okay." I kissed her with a quiet sorrow, hoping to ease back some of the despondency that was sitting inside us both. "If this thing goes down, and you know it probably will...then we do what we do best, we find a way through it, okay? We figure it out. And you wait for me; I really didn't mean a damn thing I said before about you moving on..."

I detected the slightest smile at the corner of her mouth as she sighed, looking at me with so much devotion, a love I didn't deserve. "I'm sorry," I said again, brushing my hand along her cheek. "You're right, I can't tell you how you should feel. I only wish you didn't have to go through this at all."

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

_**Several Hours Later**_

**Sam's POV**

Whatever Dean had said to Beth, it had seemed to placate her for the moment. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief, I was completely terrified of how I was going to help her through this whole thing, how I was going to convince her not to give up on Dean if he were dragged down to Hell.

They were sleeping peacefully in bed now, Beth wrapped around him with her head on his chest. I watched them, and I knew I was going to go through with my plan, regardless of what Dean would say.

I picked up my backpack and cast one last look at the two most important people in the world to me. Quietly I left the room, closing the door behind me.

I walked down a dirt road, coming to a crossroads, and took the box out of my bag that I'd prepared earlier, all the summoning ingredients necessary to bring the demon to me. I crouched down, closing the box and burying it in the ground with my bare hands.

By the time I'd turned around, surveying the directions of the road, the demon had appeared, standing beside me.

"Well. Little Sammy Winchester. I'm touched. I mean... your brother and sister have been to see me twice, but you? I never had the pleasure." She said, her eyes glowing red. I glared at her in response.

"What can I do for you Sam?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I drew the Colt out of my jacket and pointed it directly at her head. "You can beg for your life," I told her.

She sighed. "We were having such a nice conversation, then you had to go and ruin the mood."

"If I were you I'd drop the wisecracks and start acting scared," I said, narrowing my eyes at her.

"It's not my style," she replied with a smirk. "That's not the original Colt. Where did you get that?"

I ignored the question, watching her.

"Ruby. Had to be," she said, shaking her head. "She is such a pain in my ass. She'll get what's coming to her... you can count on it."

"That's enough. I came here to make you an offer." I said to her.

The demon looked at me incredulously. "You're gonna make _me _an offer? That's adorable," she said.

"You can let Dean out of his deal right now. He lives. Beth lives. I live. You live. Everyone goes home happy. Or..." I cocked the gun, raising an eyebrow at her. "...you stop breathing. Permanently."

The demon smiled at me, and then laughed. "Oh. All this tough talk. I have to tell you, it's not very convincing. I mean, come on Sam. Do you even want to break the deal?"

"What do you think?" I asked.

"I don't know. Aren't you tired of cleaning up Dean and Beth's messes? Of dealing with that broken psyche of his? Aren't you tired of being bossed around like the little snot-nosed brother? Cast aside whenever you become a third wheel and they want to get their rocks off? You're stronger than Dean. You're smarter than Beth. You're better than the both of them."

"Watch your mouth," I warned her, glaring at her.

"Admit it. You're here, going through the motions. But truth is, you'll be a tiny bit relieved when he's gone," she taunted., taking a few steps toward me.

"Shut up," I said.

"No more desperate, sloppy, needy Dean. Just Beth, and oh how needy she is going to be. You can finally be free of that brother, and maybe, just maybe there's something deep down that wishes you were the brother she'd fallen for. Who knows maybe she will once Dean is out of the picture."

"I said shut up!" I said loudly at her, waving the Colt in front of her.

"Huh. Doth protest too much if you ask me." She said with a smirk.

"All right, enough of your crap. You let Dean out of his deal, right now." I ordered her.

"Sorry sweetheart, but your brother's an adult." She said, starting to circle around me. "He made that deal of his own free will, fair and square. It's iron clad," she said with a smile.

"Every deal can be broken," I said, following her moves with the Colt, my eyes not leaving her for a moment.

"Not this one," she answered, turning to smile at me.

"Fine. Then I'll kill you. If you're gone, so's the deal," I said, and in my heart I knew it wouldn't be that easy, but it was worth a try. I was also fishing for information.

The demon laughed at me, shaking her head. "Guess again."

"What?" I asked.

"Sam, I'm just a sales woman. I got a boss like everybody else. He holds the contract, not me. He wants Dean's soul, bad. And believe me, he's not going to let it go." She said.

"You're bluffing," I said.

"Am I?" She asked. "Shoot me, if it'll get you off, but the deal still holds, and when Dean's time is up, he's getting dragged into the pit, regardless of what you, or that pretty little sister of yours tries to do to stop it."

"Then who's your boss? Who holds the contract?" I asked, lowering the Colt, _I'd just kill him too._

"He's not as cuddly as me, I can tell you that," she said with a smile.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"I can't tell you. I'm sorry Sam. There's no way out of this one. Not this time," she said, looking at me almost sympathetically.

I felt a rage pass through me that I hadn't felt in a long time, and I was torn. I sighed, looking down at my hands. When I looked up again, I lifted the Colt and shot the demon right between the eyes. She looked shocked, and then fell to the ground with a groan.

What was I going to do? This had been our best bet and it had been a complete waste of time. Just what was I going to do now?

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

_Song for this chapter is: _Without You by Breaking Benjamin

* * *

If there's any one out there skilled at making videos, I'm still looking for someone who might be interested in tackling some Dean & Beth fan vids :)

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Please read and review, you know I love it.


	9. Red Sky At Morning - First Blood

_She sits in her corner __**  
**__Singing herself to sleep __**  
**__Wrapped in all of the promises __**  
**__That no one seems to keep __**  
**__She no longer cries to herself __**  
**__No tears left to wash away __**  
**__Just diaries of empty pages __**  
**__Feelings gone a stray __**  
**__But she will sing _

_Til everything burns __**  
**__While everyone screams __**  
**__Burning their lies __**  
**__Burning my dreams __**  
**__All of this hate __**  
**__And all of this pain __**  
**__I'll burn it all down __**  
**__As my anger reigns __**  
**__Til everything burns_

* * *

**RED SKY AT MORNING - FIRST BLOOD**

* * *

**Impala**

"So I've been waiting since Maple Springs. You got something to tell me?" Dean said into the silence of the car. We had been driving for the last few hours and he'd obviously been stewing on something. Like a closed book, Dean hadn't shared his thoughts with me, and I had been quietly wondering if he were still thinking about the semi-breakdown I'd had before we'd left.

"Me?" I asked, frowning at the back of his head as if he had eyes there. Of course it was me, one didn't just flip out and yell her head off at the man who had sold his soul for her, and expect that there wouldn't be repercussions. I bit my lip, wondering if perhaps he could see me for the flawed human being I was, and that maybe, just maybe he would agree to get out of this damn deal and let me go to Hell like originally planned.

"No, not you babe," he answered, looking gently at me in the mirror before turning his serious hazel eyes toward the man sitting next to him. "Sam." This was said quite pointedly as he looked over at our brother.

Sam looked back at him like the kid who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and shrugged. "It's … not... your birthday." He said, clearly playing dumb about something going on. I gazed curiously at the two men, becoming aware that something had occurred which I'd missed while we were at Maple Springs.

"No," Dean said with narrowed eyes, his voice gravelly and hard.

"Happy... Purim?" Sam said jokingly. "Dude, I don't know. I have no idea what you're talking..."

"There's a bullet missing from the Colt." Dean said and I looked up from the closed journal I had been turning over in my hands, it still remained closed and had for weeks now.

"What?" I asked curiously, leaning forward a little so as not to miss the conversation.

"You want to tell me how that happened?" Dean said. "Because I know it wasn't me, and I know it wasn't Beth. So unless you were shooting at some incredibly evil cans..."

"Dean..." Sam muttered warningly.

I looked at Sam, my heart leaping to my throat. _Had he done it? Did he go through with the plan?_ "You went after her, didn't you?" I asked, amazed that he hadn't involved me. It had been my plan in the first place, not that I was about to admit that to Dean.

"The Crossroads Demon?" Dean asked, frowning at me with a look that clearly said he wasn't pleased I knew something about this. "After I told you both not to."

"Yeah, well..." Sam didn't get a much of a chance to answer.

"You could have gotten yourself killed!" Dean snapped, his voice rising in clear indication that he was unsettled and angry at the sequence of events that had brought us to this moment.

"I didn't," Sam answered, as if the fact that he were sitting here in front of us was good enough measure for having put his life on the line in the first place. I was just angry that I hadn't been able to do it, I would have easily and willingly put a bullet through the eyes of that Crossroads Demon, just to watch her die.

"And you shot her?" I asked, eyes wide.

Sam shrugged and raised an eyebrow at me. "She was a smartass." I nearly laughed, but Dean was anything but in a joking mood.

"So what does that mean? Is Dean out of his dead?" I asked, hopeful, knowing in my heart that it simply couldn't be that easy. Since when was life simple for the Winchesters? Things didn't work that way for us, it was as if there was only so much happiness allowed in our lives and somehow, inexplicably, we'd reached that quota.

I had started to wonder if loving Dean had used up all my happiness allotment: the feelings I had for him so strong and adoring that just looking at him made my soul sing with joy. It was ridiculously cliché and I hated that most of all, but there was no denying it. Somehow this man, who rode around in a '67 Impala, ganking all manner of creatures that went bump in the night, and swilling beer and pie in copious amounts that couldn't be healthy, had made the Prince Charming pedestal.

I was completely smitten, even after all this time, and if I was perfectly honest – I had been from the day I met him. I wanted to believe in soul mates like my mother had: I wanted to lay claim to Dean as mine, and only mine, but I wasn't sure. God was playing a particularly cruel joke on us if we were, because our lives together had been anything but perfect.

"Don't you think I might have mentioned that little fact?" Sam said with a grim amused look. "No. Someone else holds the contract." This got my attention and Dean's at the same time.

"Who?" Dean asked, glancing over, the tone in his voice showing that perhaps he was a little more willing to seek out an end to this deal than he had been a few days ago. Maybe my vow to get him out of Hell, come what may, had got him thinking. Surely he wouldn't expect anything less, he would move Heaven and Earth to get to Sam or me if the situation were reversed, and I wasn't about to leave him to rot in Hell if we could do something about it.

"She wouldn't say," Sam answered and I sank back into the back seat with a sigh.

"Well, we should find out who." Dean said. "Of course, our best lead would be the Crossroads Demon...Oh... wait a minute..."

"That's not funny..." Sam said deadpan.

"No it's not!" Dean snapped. "It was a stupid freaking risk, and you shouldn't have done it!"

"I shouldn't have done it?" Sam asked, shaking his head. "You're my brother Dean. And no matter what you do, I'm gonna try and save you. And I'm sure as Hell not gonna apologise for it, all right?"

Dean looked sullenly back at the road, his lips tight and angry as he shoved down whatever retort he had for Sam. I reached over and squeezed both their shoulders, letting them know in simple touch how much I loved them both. They both exchanged a look and then fell silent. Satisfied that this little tiff was over, I sat back and returned to the task at hand: John's journal.

Cole had been out in Buffalo cataloguing the storage unit, going through all the things John had stored so that we'd have some idea on what was even in there. She'd packaged this up for me and mailed it overnight express a few weeks back, but I hadn't even looked at it until now.

The journal was one I'd never seen before, smaller and not as thick as the one we carried around like our Holy Bible.

I took a breath and opened it, turning to the front page. My heart ached at the familiar handwriting that was John's and when I saw the date, it skipped a beat. It was a few days after they'd rescued me from the demon.

* * *

_**Wisconsin**_

_**Almost 12 years ago**_

**John's POV**

I made Dean drive while I rode shotgun, Sam and Elizabeth... Beth... in the back. I glanced over the seat and saw that they'd both fallen asleep, a couple of pillows against either window as they napped. Dean was sullen and silent as he watched the road, and I knew he was thinking about the last few days, just as I was. He'd had mixed emotions about bringing Beth with us, but in the end he'd told me I should do it. It had surprised me, he so rarely showed an opinion contrary to my own: it had made me pay attention.

I opened my journal and started writing, I had to get this all out. I didn't want to write about it at all, but one day she might ask, and I wanted to remember.

_Patrick is dead. I arrived too late to save him. We were too far away when the call came. Even driving non stop for twenty-five hours, sharing the drive with Dean, we'd still arrived two hours too late. I'll never forget the sight before us as we entered the house._

The house had been quiet, too quiet, I'd nodded for Dean to follow me, guns drawn as we searched for Patrick and Elizabeth. The library was lit up from a skylight, the sun filtering through to an otherwise darkened room. The young girl before me, who I hadn't seen since a child, now stood tall and haughtily before the dead body of her father lying on the ground. I sucked in a breath, seeing the knife protruding from his chest, the pool of blood underneath him.

"You're too late John," she said and I paused, watching her. This wasn't Elizabeth, this was someone else. She seemed unable to move out of the small area and that drew my eyes to the ceiling. I smirked when I saw the devil's trap that Patrick had drawn on the ceiling. I inclined my head toward her with an amused look.

"Get out of the girl," I said. She laughed at me, it was like nails grating against a chalkboard, I forced myself to keep my face neutral.

"No, I don't think so. I know a few people down below that would like to get a hold of this pretty little thing... now we know about her." The demon said.

"I'm afraid I can't let that happen," I said confidently to her.

"Heh! You can't hold me here forever," she snarled at me. I put on my poker face, forcing my emotions back, deep down within.

_I found Patrick dead on the floor, and Beth possessed by the very thing that had killed him. I couldn't let her see my distress at having just found one of my oldest friends dead on the floor, I had to be strong. But it wasn't easy. Patrick and Grace had been childhood friends of Mary's, and good friends to me when I got back from Nam. _

_Worst of all was seeing that little girl, grown to young lady, possessed. I hadn't much experience with exorcisms, but there was one that Patrick had given me a long time ago. And I used it. _

I sent Dean for my journal, while I walked around the edge of the circle, assessing the demon. Patrick's body was long dead, by hours, and I cringed internally at having failed to get here fast enough. I leaned down, looking at the knife. It was unfamiliar to me, but he'd also told me about it, an ancient weapon that had been handed down through the family from so long ago no one exactly knew its origins. It was enchanted with carvings, and I pulled it out, keeping my face calm. It killed demons, I knew that, and it would kill this one. Only problem was, it would kill Elizabeth too.

The demon held out her arms, daring me.

"Go ahead John," she said. "Use it." I didn't take the bait, instead turned the knife over in my hands, looking at it. Dean returned with the journal and I flipped through to the page where I'd written the exorcism down many years earlier.

"Time to meet your maker, demon," I said simply, then started to read the Latin in front of me. "Regna terrae... cantate Deo, psallite Domino – qui fertis ascendit, super caelum..."

"You're leaving her one way or the other," I told the demon. "Now why are you here?"

"That's above your pay grade John Winchester," she said with a smirk.

I resumed reading. "...caeli ad Orientem. Ecce dabit..."

The demon started to twitch before me, and then she screamed at me in anger. Dean looked shocked and I rousted him to attention as the demon bit the girl's arm, blood welling in the wound which she caught in her hand.

"You better kill her, John. Because pretty soon all of Hell is going to know about her, and they'll be coming," she said to me. She started to chant into the blood and I realised she was using it to communicate with someone, or something. I started to read again as she chanted in a language unfamiliar to me.

_The demon was exorcised, sent back to Hell, but it's left me with a dilemma. I have a fifteen year old girl with nowhere to go. I've talked to her uncle and he is too young and too stubborn to take her in, angry at the world. I'm not sure I'd want to send her there even if I could. Upon discussion with Jim Murphy, and the boys weighing in their opinions, I have decided to take her with me. I can't abandon her. I owe Patrick and Grace that much, they would have taken the boys in a heart beat if the situation were reversed. So now I have a daughter to care for too. God help me._

* * *

_**Sea Pines, Massachusetts  
**__**Gertrude Case's House**_

_**Present Day**_

**Beth's POV**

Gertrude Case was standing in front of us holding a picture of her niece, a woman who had somehow managed to drown in her own shower. The woman was around seventy years old and dressed elegantly, with her hair up in a bun at the top of her head, pearls around her neck and adorning her ears. Dean, Sam and I were all similarly dressed in suits, this was definitely an upper-class area.

"But I don't understand. I already went over all this with the other detectives," she said looking from Dean to Sam.

"Right, yes. But, see, we're with the Sheriff's Department, not the police department – different departments," Dean explained and she shrugged, the story sounded plausible enough.

"So, Mrs. Case..." Sam started, and she cut him off with a smile.

"Please. Ms Case," she said, emphasising the _Ms _and looking him up and down, a slight flush appeared in her cheeks as she licked her lips. Dean exchanged an amused look with me and I had to keep from chuckling as Sam started to look flustered.

"Okay. Um, Ms. Case, um... you were the one who found your niece, correct?"

She nodded. "I came home, she was in the shower," she answered.

"Drowned?" I asked, looking at her.

"So the coroner says," she said with a raised eyebrow and looking sceptical. "Now, you tell me, how can someone drown in the shower?"

I shrugged, I didn't have an answer for that. Dean looked puzzled and I grinned, his facial expressions were just priceless sometimes, made me want to kiss him right then and there for being so damn cute.

Gertrude turned her attentions to Sam, who continued with the questioning. "How would you describe Sheila's behaviour in the days before her death? I mean, did she seem frightened? Maybe she said something out of the ordinary?" He asked.

Gertrude looked at Sam curiously, then glanced between him to Dean and I.

"Wait a minute. You're working with Alex, aren't you?" She asked.

Dean and I exchanged a look and then he nodded. "Yep. Absolutely. That Alex and us, we're like this," he said, crossing his fingers.

"Why didn't you say so?" She said with a smile. "Alex has been such a comfort." Gertrude sat down in the armchair behind her, placing the photo frame on the table beside her. "But I'm sorry. I thought the case was solved," she added.

"Well, no. No, not yet," Sam said, going with the conversation.

"I see," Gertrude said with a slight frown.

"So, anyway, we were talking about your niece," Sam prompted.

"Well, yes. Sheila mentioned something quite strange before she died. She said she saw a boat," Gertrude replied with a nod.

"A boat?" I asked, curious.

"Yes. One minute it was there, then it was gone. It just disappeared right before her eyes," she answered, looking at us all. "You think it could be a ghost ship? Alex thinks it could be a ghost ship."

"Well, uh, could be," Sam said with a nod and a slightly uncomfortable smile.

"Well," Gertrude smiled at Sam. "You let me know if there's anything else I can do for you," she said reaching a hand out and tracing it slowly along Sam's hand. Sam glanced at me, looking uncomfortable and Dean snickered quietly nearby. "Anything at all," she added a little more suggestively.

* * *

_**Docks **_

_**Present Day**_

**Beth's POV**

The docks were something to behold. The water was crowded with huge yachts and other large boats in varying degrees of splendour. We walked slowly along the wooden planks, and I watched the play of water as it lapped against the bows of the boats.

"What a crazy old broad," Dean said shaking his head, taking my hand as he walked. I cast a curious gaze at the display of affection, but didn't say anything, enjoying the feel of his fingers laced through mine. Little moments like these I tucked away in my mind for later, because one day they might be all I had left.

"Why? Because she believes in ghosts?" Sam asked, frowning at him, completely oblivious to anything other than the conversation at hand.

Dean snickered. "Look at you. Sticking up for your girlfriend. You cougar hound," he teased. Sam tossed him an unimpressed look.

"Bite me," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Not if she bites you first," Dean said with a laugh, I shook my head, thinking about another aspect of the conversation we'd had with Gertrude.

"So who is this Alex? Is there anything player in town?" I asked, looking over at the two of them.

"Maybe, maybe not," Dean said with a frown. "Doesn't change our job."

"So... ghost ship?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not the first one sighted around here," Sam said.

"Really?" Dean asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Every thirty-seven years, like clockwork, reports of a vanishing three-mast clipper ship out in the bay. And every thirty-seven years, a rash of weird, dry-land drownings," Sam said. I looked at him, impressed. He'd been doing his homework while Dean and I had been testing out the motel room's bed.

The bed had been lumpy and a little creepy with weird stains and things that made you wonder about what that mattress had witnessed in it's obvious long life. Thankfully we'd had clean sheets to make use of, just the same we'd had to shower afterwards, which had been enjoyable by it's own standards, until the cockroaches decided to visit. We'd decided to move motels after that.

"So, whatever's happening is just getting started," I said.

"Yeah," Sam confirmed with a nod.

"What's the lore?" Dean asked.

"Well there are apparitions of old wrecks sighted all over the world. The S.S. Violet, the Griffin, the Flying Dutchman – almost all of them are death omens," Sam said.

"So, you see the ship and then a few hours later, you pucker up and kiss your ass goodbye?" Dean asked, casting a look around us at all the people passing by. I was sure there was a better way to put dying, but in Dean terms, pucker up was about as good as it was going to get.

"Basically," Sam said with a nod.

"What's the next step?" Dean asked, unusually out of a game plan for once.

"We gotta I.D the boat," Sam said and I looked over at him thoughtfully.

"Well that shouldn't be too hard. I mean, how many three-mast clipper ships have wrecked off the coast?" I asked. Sam grimaced when he looked back at me.

"I checked that too, actually. Over one hundred and fifty," Sam said. I screwed up my nose, who the hell would have thought that? Did boats just lack the ability to stay afloat during a particular time period or something. That was _a lot of freaking boats! _Even over a 150 year period it was one a year. I was flabbergasted, and a little overwhelmed at the thought of having to sift through the research right now.

"Wow," Dean said, equally as impressed as I was. He shook his head and looked over at Sam with a shrug.

"Yeah," Sam breathed, shaking his head back.

"Crap," I said, letting my thoughts slip out of my mouth.

"Yeah," Sam laughed.

We walked up the steps leading to the main road, and the parking space where we'd left the Impala. Dean started to look a little confused and I saw immediately what the problem was. The parking space was empty and the meter was reading _expired. _

"This is where we parked the car, right?" Dean asked me, pointing to the meter, the Impala was definitely not where we'd left her.

"I thought so," I said with a nod.

"Where's my car?" Dean asked, stepping into the road and holding out his hands. His voice started to rise a little, panicked. I grimaced and looked worriedly at Dean.

"Did you feed the meter?" Sam asked, and Dean looked at him like he was crazy.

"Yes, I fed the meter!" Dean snapped, stepping back on to the pavement. "Guys, where's my car? Somebody stole my car!" He said loudly as he walked away from us, Sam and I exchanged a shrug and turned around – Dean's outburst had drawn a couple of looks from passers-by and it didn't go unnoticed by Sam either.

"Hey calm down," Sam said and Dean threw his hands in the air.

"I am calmed down! Somebody stole my ca..." He stopped speaking and when I glanced back, Dean had his hands on his knees, hyperventilating.

"Dean!" I rushed over to him, Sam following. His breaths were coming in short, erratic bursts, and I realised that I'd never seen him like this. Since when did Dean have panic attacks? "Dean, you need to calm down." I said, placing my hand on his chest as Sam grabbed his arm, holding him as he attempted to catch his breath. Dean looked completely alarmed, like the missing car had just triggered something much deeper inside of him.

"Dean, hey, hey, hey. Take it easy," Sam said comfortingly, patting his brother on the back as he sucked in a few more breaths, looking at me with panic in his eyes.

"'67 Impala?" A British accent said to us, and we looked up to see Bela Talbot sauntering toward us. "Was that yours?" She asked with a smirk.

"Bela," Sam sneered and she raised an eyebrow. He moved almost imperceptibly toward her, but stopped as she came to within a yard of us.

"I'm sorry. I had that car towed," she said with a smile, looking at Dean who was suddenly straightening his back and pulling himself together.

"You what?!" Dean took a step toward her, and I pressed my hand harder to his chest, restraining him.

"Well, it was in a tow-away zone," she commented and Dean looked like he was going to hit her.

"No, it wasn't!" He said. His eyes said it all, if she came any closer, he was going to kill her, and there would be nothing further to it. Of course Bela didn't care, she just kept on goading him.

"It was when I finished with it," she said with a grin. We all looked at her, I knew I was contemplating how I could drown her in the water right now, a glance toward Dean and Sam pretty much said the same thing. I narrowed my eyes at her and sighed.

"What the hell are you even doing here?" I asked coldly, watching as her blue-grey eyes turned to look me over.

"A little yachting," Bela said flippantly, smiling and looking around at all the boats.

"You're Alex," Sam said out of the blue, and she smirked. "You're working with that old lady." He put it together like he always did, and I shook my head. Was there nothing too low that this woman would stoop to?

"Gert's a dear old friend," Bela said.

"Yeah, right. What's your angle?" Dean said sceptically.

"There's no angle. There's a lot of lovely old women like Gert up and down the eastern seaboard. I sell them charms, perform seances so they can commune with their dead cats." She replied.

"And let me guess, it's all a con?" Dean asked.

"The comfort I provide them is very real," Bela said, almost looking sincere.

"How do you sleep at night?" I practically sneered at her with a glare.

"On silk sheets," Bela replied.. "Rolling naked in money." She looked over at me curiously. "Really, Beth. I'd expected the attitude from lover boy here, but you?"

"You shot me!" I said incredulously. I still had the scars to prove it. Out of all three of us present, I think I had the most reason to hate her.

"I barely grazed you," she said dismissively, which made me want to slap her, hard, with the back of a shovel or something. She looked at Dean. "Cute. But a bit of a drama queen isn't she?" I made to move, thinking I might just punch her in the nose being that the shovel was still in the trunk of the car, which was currently missing in action, but this time Dean restrained me with an arm around my waist, looking over at Bela.

"You do know what's going on around here. This ghost-ship thing, it is real," he pointed out.

"I'm aware. Thanks for telling Gert the case wasn't solved, by the way," she said in a disappointed tone.

"It isn't," Sam said with a frown.

"She didn't know that. Now the old bag's stopped payment and she's demanding some real answers," she said, looking at us all. "Look... just stay out of my way before you cause any more trouble." She turned to leave, and then looked back at us. "I'd get to that car if I were you...before they find the arsenal in the truck. Ciao!"

She left and I watched her retreating back with a fury burning inside me.

"Can I shoot her?" I asked, my hand itching to grab the gun from the small of my back and clip one of her shoulders as payback.

Dean sighed. "Not in public," he said sadly, looking at Sam who nodded.

_Damn._

* * *

_**Stillwater, Oklahoma**_

Almost 12 years ago

**John's Journal**

_It's been two months since Beth joined us. She's fitting in to the family really well, just like a daughter, a sister for the boys. Dare I say it might even be good for us? I am worried about her this last week. She's sunk into a depression, not unlike what I think I went through when Mary died. I don't know how to help her other than to keep pushing her to get through it, so I have Dean getting her up, and we're training. She's learning guns now, and she's good – so good it's almost making me uncomfortable because she should be thinking about boys and prom dates and chatting on the phone with girlfriends. It worries me that her only friends are Dean and Sam, as if I haven't messed up their lives enough already. I need to get her into school again, which means getting her some fake papers because as far as the rest of the world is concerned, Beth O'Malley is dead._

**Dean's POV**

"Beth, hey Beth come on, get up!" I said, shaking the girl by the shoulder as she rolled over with a groan, dark brown eyes looked up at me in protest.

"Go away Dean," she muttered, pulling the pillow over her head. I grabbed it and tossed it on to the other bed.

"Get up, come on," I said, hoisting her up by the arm. She sighed and attempted to glare at me, but I just flashed her a smile and she stopped in her tracks. I snickered, she couldn't stay mad at me. Besides, it wasn't my fault and she knew it.

Beth glanced over at Dad, who was writing in his journal and looking over at us occasionally. Suddenly she steeled herself and swung her legs out of bed, looking up at me sadly.

"Come on, it'll be okay once we get started," I said, she nodded and let out a long breath. I pulled one of my hoodies over her head, because we still hadn't gotten around to getting her any decent training clothes, and she shrugged into a pair of sweatpants and tennis shoes. I looked her over as she pulled her hair into a ponytail, and then wrapped her arms around herself. Good, we were ready to go.

Dad nodded almost imperceptibly at us as we left the motel room. I started out at a brisk jog, and Beth fell in behind me, keeping pace. She was fit and I didn't have to slow for her at all, I liked that. I quickened the pace, taking us down a few walking trails into the national park nearby. No one came out here at this hour of the day, we would be completely alone.

We reached a clearing and I stopped, taking a few deep breaths before turning to her. She was bent over, hands on her knees and bringing herself back to a resting state.

"Okay, self-defence," I said to her, and she groaned. "You need to know this stuff Beth!" I said, rolling my eyes. She didn't reply, simply standing up and looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Come on, Dad's going to take you on hunts soon, you _need to know this." _I repeated and she nodded slowly. "Let's go over what we did yesterday."

I circled her, predator like, while she watched me. When I reached her side I lunged at her, attempting to grab her, but she was quick. She ducked out of range, and danced around me smiling.

I swung a punch at her, she blocked, another, it too was blocked. I pushed in to her, attempting to get her off balance. It worked, she tripped over a tree root and fell to the ground, helpless as I knelt over her and put a knife to the pale skin at her throat. She swallowed, staring up at me. "You're dead," I said to her grimly. She narrowed her eyes and pushed me off her.

"Again," she said, looking at me, determined. I stood up with a smile.

"That's my girl," I said, and she grinned, moving in to throw a punch at me which I easily blocked. She spun around and elbowed me in the ribs when I wasn't expecting it and chuckled as I groaned.

"I'm not your girl, I'm not anyone's girl," she said with a smirk. I huffed and stood a little straighter.

"You're still a girl," I said to her. "You need to hit harder than that."

"I don't want to hurt you," she said with a cocky grin. I snorted.

"Sugarpie, there's nothing you could do that would hurt ..." I stopped, blocking the forward kick she had just sent toward my groin. I held her ankle, looking up at her. "Well... except maybe that," I said with grin. She laughed and so I twisted her ankle and flipped her, shoving her face first into a puddle where she spluttered up muddy water.

"Dean!" She cried out, standing up, covered in mud all down her front. I laughed, she looked a sight. "God you're a prick!"

"Awww, that hurts," I said sarcastically and she glared at me. She scraped the mud from her face and flicked it at the ground.

"Fine," she said with a determined tone, falling into a defensive stance. "Let's do this," she countered, and I nodded, a smile on my face. Nothing kept this kid down for long, we just had to keep her moving, don't give her any time to think about what had happened two months ago, about how her life had changed.

I'd been hesitant at the start, torn between bringing her with us or not, but it had been nice having someone more my age around, Sammy was just... well he wasn't like me, and I couldn't get up to mischief with him because I was supposed to be watching out for him. Beth on the other hand, it was almost encouraged. Do anything with her, just keep her moving, keep her distracted, don't let her think about her dad.

"Come on," I said with a grin, thinking of something more fun than sparring. "Let's go do guns," I offered and she nodded enthusiastically. I was starting to get a little worried at how much she liked guns, but she was good with them, I'd give her that. We jogged back to the motel and Dad was waiting out the front of the room, going through the trunk of the car.

He took one look at Beth, caked in mud all down the front of her and grinned. He was so different with her, if you watched him, it did my head in sometimes because he was such a hard ass on me. I watched as he patted her on the shoulder and told her to go shower and change. Just once it might be nice to get that kind of attention from him. I shrugged it off and smiled as I watched Beth traipse inside. We were doing rifles today, I chuckled. This was going to be fun.

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

_**Present Day**_

**Beth's POV**

I was curled up on the couch reading through John's journal, Dean was watching me from the bed, curious. He'd seen me with it for a day or so now, and it hadn't passed my attention how he hadn't asked me what it was yet. Curiosity finally got the better of him as he flopped down on the couch next to me, looking over at the journal.

"Okay, spill," he said, and I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"The book, what is so damn fascinating about it?" He asked when I didn't answer straight away.

I smiled and kissed him on the nose. "Cole found it in the storage unit, it was Dad's," I said.

"And?" He asked, looking confused.

"And it's a journal," I said to him, flipping it open to show him what had been my particular obsession since the night before.

"Dad had another journal?" Dean asked, frowning.

"No, these are pages he's removed from his other one and put into this cover," I said. Dean looked at the handwriting curiously, nodding when he recognised it as John's.

"Well why would he do that?" He asked, glancing over at me.

"It's about me," I said quietly. Dean raised an eyebrow and leaned over to get another look.

"Huh?" He said as I flipped to the front of the journal and showed him the first page.

"When you guys found me, and I came with you," I said. "Dad kept a journal about it." I fell silent, thinking about all that I'd read. "Apparently he was really debating whether or not to keep me for some time," I added.

"What?!" Dean asked, surprised.

"Well, you remember what it was like, the first few months. You know more than anyone how I didn't even want to get out of bed." I said, he nodded solemnly. It had been pretty bad in the beginning.

He leaned over and kissed me, a slight smile playing on his lips. "He made the right choice," he said, and it made me chuckle.

"You're only saying that because you scored the girl," I said, climbing into his lap and sitting to face him, my arms draped across his shoulders and around his neck.

"Mhmmm," he said with a nod, kissing my neck. I moaned and ground my hips against the perfect angle of his pelvis, the catch of his breath instilling me with desire as I looked into his eyes. Dean kissed down my collarbone and ran a hand up under my top, teasing a nipple through the bra, drawing another moan out of me.

"Mmmm," I said with a grin, leaning back slightly. He pinched the nipple between his fingers and teased me as I moved against him. I claimed his lips in a slow, lingering kiss as his hands slid down to my hips, holding me.

The door to the room opened, and Sam strolled in carrying a bag of donuts.

"Hey guys," he said, ignoring the embrace we were locked in on the couch.

"Morning Sam," I said, moving away from Dean slightly.

"So there was another murder last night," he said and that got our attention. Dean shifted and I climbed out of his lap, both of us moving to get a couple of donuts from the bag.

"Oh yeah?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, and I got an address," he said with a grin.

"That's my boy," Dean said with a smile, taking a bite out of a chocolate covered creme-filled donut. "Mmm!" He exclaimed in delight, Sam and I exchanged amused smiles.

* * *

_**Warren House**_

_**Present Day**_

**Beth's POV**

The first thing I saw when we arrived was Bela, impersonating a reporter and talking to a clearly distraught man. She had a tape recorder shoved up in his face and he was talking to her, all flustered. I took it to mean that this was the brother we'd heard about over the scanner, and as usual, Bela was right in the thick of it.

"No. Police said that he drowned, but I don't u-understand how..." He trailed off as we approached, shaking his head in confusion.

"I am so sorry for your loss, Mr Warren. Now, if you could just tell me one more time about the ship your brother saw," Bela said, pushing him for information. I skipped ahead and flashed my badge, Dean and Sam following suit. Bela gazed at me in amusement.

"Ma'am, I think this man's been through quite enough. You should go," I said, turning to toss a challenging look at the woman.

"But I just have a few more questions," she said with an innocent look and smile.

"No, you don't," Sam said sternly, staring her down.

Bela turned, staying in character and smiled at Mr Warren. "Thank you for your time," she said, glaring at us as she started to walk away.

"Sorry you had to deal with that," Dean said to Mr Warren. "They're like _roaches," _he added loudly enough for Bela to hear. Bela turned back and grit her teeth, rolling her eyes.

"So, we heard you say your brother saw a ship?" Sam asked, turning to the victim's brother.

"Yeah, that's right," he said.

"Did he tell you what it looked like?" Dean asked.

The man looked at us and then nodded. "It was, uh... like the old Yankee clippers. A smuggling vessel. The rakish topsail, a barkentine rigging. Angel figurehead on the bow."

"That's a lot of detail for a ship your brother saw," I pointed out, looking at him curiously.

"My brother and I were night diving," he said to me. "I saw the ship too."

Sam was looking behind us and nudged Dean. Bela was talking to the real police and pointing in our direction. _Time to go. _

"Right. Well, we'll be in touch," Dean said with a nod.

"Thank you," Sam said to the man as we left.

* * *

_**St George, Utah**_

_**12 years ago**_

**John's Journal**

_It's Beth's first hunt tonight. Three months and I think she's ready. She's a fast learner and I'm proud of what she's achieved. She can easily outshoot Sam already, not that he's showing that much interest in guns right now. Dean has been working with her night and day, he's determined to get her ready to fight with us. There's a running joke, since she doesn't cook – just like the rest of us – that if she can't cook she needs to earn her keep through fighting. I think she's happier with the idea of fighting._

**John's POV**

We were hunting a skinwalker, he'd been in the area for a few weeks now, taking on the forms of other people and then entering their homes, slaughtering them in their sleep. I didn't know what drove these creatures to homicide, but it was nearly always the same thing whenever we came across them.

I looked at Beth, she was dressed in jeans and black hoodie and flashed me a nervous smile.

"You ready?" I asked. It was just her and me tonight, first hunt alone and I wanted her focused, not worrying about Dean or Sam.

She nodded and looked a little excited. I chuckled. "Come on then," I said.

I knelt down on the patio and picked the lock on the door. I had tracked the skinwalker to this house and I was certain it was inside. The door creaked eerily in the quiet of the night. My flashlight lit up the house enough to see, and we progressed, both with guns and silver bullets in hand, silver knives sheathed to our arms.

There was a noise upstairs and I nodded toward the stairway. Beth took the lead, moving silently as I followed. She paused at the landing, just as I'd trained her, listening for where she had to go next.

A whimper sounded in the bedroom and she moved quickly down the hallway toward it, I brought up the rear. With a deep breath, Beth pushed open the bedroom door and we came across a disturbing sight. The parents were tied to the bed, gagged, and standing over them was a young boy about Beth's age brandishing a knife. He'd already slashed at the father: he was alive, but wouldn't be for much longer. The kid looked over at us, hearing Beth's rapid breathing and then he fell down beside the bed.

"Don't hurt me!" He said holding his hands up.

"Beth, don't listen to it," I said sternly.

The mother was whimpering and struggling against her bonds. I moved toward her and started to cut at the ropes around her wrist. Beth was staring at the boy whose hands were covered in blood.

"I'm innocent!" The boy professed, despite it having been quite clear he wasn't.

Beth circled around, watching the boy. Without warning he lunged at her with a knife, and slashed her forearm. She cried out, grabbing him and spinning him into the wall.

"Kill it!" I ordered Beth, "Now!" But she froze, and the boy took the advantage, he grabbed her knife, disarming her in the confusion and threw himself at me, stabbing me in the shoulder. I rolled him to the ground and brought out my own knife, gritting my teeth against the pain as I rammed it into his chest. The boy fell to the floor, dead.

I looked up at Beth and sighed, she was staring in horror at the boy.

_The skinwalker hunt didn't go as planned, Beth froze, and she nearly got herself killed because of it. Had the skinwalker managed to get the better of me, she would have definitely been next. It terrifies me to think of the danger I put her in, that I put her in every day – but she's got to learn. If she's going to come with us, I need her ready, I need her hardened against the things that go bump in the night._

_Maybe this was a mistake, bringing her with us. She's a girl, and she knows nothing of the horrors that are out there. Yes, she has endured possession and the killing of her father and still she hasn't broken. I'll give her that, but at the end of the day – if she's going to freeze, can we have her with us? Can she protect herself, can she protect her brothers? She's always done really well on the group hunts, but I'm very afraid that she might come to harm if she hunts alone, or in a pair. I went hard on her tonight, real hard, I probably pushed too far, but it had to be done. She cannot be allowed to falter, I have a responsibility for her safety now._

"What if that had been Sammy?" I snapped at Beth, who was sitting on the couch quietly, tears running down her face. "You could have gotten him killed! You don't hesitate when I give you an order! You knew that kid was dangerous! You could have gotten those people killed! You could have gotten yourself killed!"

She flinched and covered her face with her hands, sobbing.

"Dad, come on! Leave her alone," Dean said and I glared at him.

"No, Dean. She needs to learn, just like you did." I said sternly, looking at Beth, assessing her.

"I can't trust you in the hunts if you are going to freeze Beth, you have to be better than that, stronger than that, you have to follow orders." I said, resuming pacing and lecturing her at the same time.

"He was just a kid!" She said softly, and Sam came to sit on the couch with her, holding her hand, she looked at him with a slight smile and I sighed.

_Patrick and I disagreed on how to raise the kids. When Mary died he wanted me to stay with them, but I wasn't in a space for that. Yes, they took the boys for a few weeks so I could get my head around things, but at the end of the day no one was going to protect them like me. It would be years before I discovered that he'd known more about hunting than he'd ever let on. It wasn't until Grace died that I learned he was a demon hunter, had been since a teen – in fact, he confessed that the three of them: him, Grace and Mary had gone on many hunts together. I was floored, I'd never even suspected, and he said Mary had wanted it that way._

_When I said I would take the boys on the road after Mary died, he argued with me. It wasn't until Grace disappeared that he started to realise the value of moving around. Even then he only moved annually, keeping Beth in schools and trying to give her a 'normal' life. This is half the problem, these kids aren't normal kids, at least they can't be allowed to be if they are going to survive. Beth doesn't know how special she is, and she needs to be stronger. Patrick wouldn't do it, he was too soft on her, and it's left me with no other choice than to be the bad guy._

"You can't let what you see cloud your judgement. You have to trust your gut, you have to follow those instincts. You knew he was dangerous, you still hesitated." I said, dropping my voice just slightly.

She nodded, the tears had stopped and she was pulling herself together again. I had a moment to think how proud I was of her, most fifteen year old girls couldn't do it; but I couldn't be soft, I had to be firm with her, I had to make her better than that, I had to make her a protector, a warrior.

"It's late, let's all get some sleep, tomorrow we start again. Sam you're on the couch, it's too small for me or Dean," I looked over at Dean who was lounging on one of the beds, arms crossed and scowling. "You bunk with your sister," I said, moving to the other bed, shrugging out of my jacket and shoes. I changed while Beth was in the bathroom doing the same thing, donning some sweatpants and a t-shirt. I slipped under the crisp sheets and let my fatigue wash over me; it had been a long day.

Beth came out of the bathroom looking physically and emotionally exhausted, her eyes were red and puffy from crying and her hair hung in untidy strands around her face. She crawled into bed and I watched quietly in the semi-darkness as she tossed and turned in bed. Eventually Dean rolled over and pulled her in to him; I frowned at the gesture. I'd seen Sam do it many times, she had so many nightmares, but I'd never seen Dean initiate the contact.

I watched, pensive, waiting for something more to happen. Dean was no stranger with the girls, and I was paranoid something was going to start here, that would be a massive problem. Dean whispered something in her ear and she started sobbing quietly, rolling in to him. He put his arms around her and held her, much like Sam did when she was upset from a nightmare. Only this time wasn't from a nightmare, this had been my doing – and that much I was reminded of with the glare Dean threw me in the darkness.

I sighed and realised there was nothing going on except Dean being a protective big brother, and I let it go, rolling over and closing my eyes to the encroaching deep sleep that was wanting to take me under. I was seriously getting too old for this shit.

* * *

_**Warren House**_

_**Present Day**_

**Beth's POV**

A short while later I had a shotgun in my hands and the familiar, comforting feel of its weight helped soothe my troubled mind. I slipped a shell into the chamber, loading the gun and snapped the barrel closed again. My mind was a million miles away, lost in the clouds of time thanks to the journal I had been reading. I thought about the last entry I'd read and the lecture John had given me that night, grimacing. I'd come so far since then.

Dean walked over, his hazel eyes watching me as I tested the weight of the gun in my hands. I looked up at him and smiled, he had no idea what a life saver he was to me, I was thankful every single day for him.

"Hey," he said, leaning in to place a soft kiss on my lips. I stared up into those intoxicating eyes and felt my heart soften. "What you thinking about?" He asked.

"You," I said simply. Dean's eyes took on the cocky, self-assured look they often did when he would look at me smugly as if to say. '_You know I'm a God, right?' _I chuckled, watching him.

"What amazing thing have I done for you this time that has you so distracted?" He asked and I snorted.

"Hmmm, nothing much lately," I teased. "But I was thinking about what you said to me that night Dad bitched me out when I failed to kill the skinwalker." Dean grimaced, his eyes taking on the concerned look that he'd given me that night.

"He was a bit rough on you, I didn't approve," he said quietly, his voice wavering just a little. It had affected him more than he let on to see John yelling at me, but he'd stilled his objections.

"He was right though," I conceded. "I could have gotten him killed."

Dean was thoughtful, looking up from his gun, to take in our surroundings.

"Do you remember what you said to me?" I asked and he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Do I look like I remember what I said to you? All I remember is you kept me up half the night until I pinned you down to go to sleep," he grinned, shaking his head.

I felt the corners of my mouth twitch into a grin, rolling my eyes at him. "You make it sound so onerous, but you know, I'd be willing to bet you didn't mind pulling me up against you like you did..." I said, trailing off. I leaned back toward him, breathing along his jawline and trailing soft kisses as I went.

"Maybe," he said with a grin. "But you know, a blubbering mess of a teen in my arms was hardly a turn on...especially dressed in those daggy old sweatpants and t-shirt you had on." I was taken aback by the detail.

"You do remember!" I said curiously.

"Every word sugarpie," he said, looking at me with the same caring eyes he had that night. He'd grabbed me, and pulled me in to him, held me close. If I closed my eyes, I could almost hear the words whispered in my ear. _'Go to sleep. I'm not going to let anything hurt you, I'll always have your back. That much you can count on." _

I trailed my gaze over his face, years had aged him, but in a good way. He stood before me, boy grown into man, the same self-assured presence he'd had the whole time I'd known him.

"Well isn't this nice," Bela's voice sounded behind me and my hands instinctively tightened on the gun I was holding. I closed my eyes, fighting back the urge to turn and shoot her.

"I see you got your car back," she said to Dean, her bluish-grey eyes tracing along his arm to the shotgun in his hands.

"You really want to come near me when I got a loaded gun in my hands?" Dean asked, beating me to it. I kept quiet because the woman elicited a fury in me that left me speechless, and at the end of the day, bitch or not, she was still human and off limits: even if she would have left us high and dry to suffer horribly unlucky deaths the last time we saw her.

"Now, now. Mind your blood pressure," Bela said with a little smile. "Why are you even still here? You have enough to I.D the boat."

"That guy back there saw the ship," Sam said as if it was perfectly clear what we were doing. It was, to someone who had a heart, but I wasn't convinced that Bela fell into that category. She was like the snake who slipped into the garden of Eden, tempting Eve with the forbidden fruit: so long as she got her way, and made a profit, she'd sell her own soul to see the deal done.

"Yeah? And?" Bela replied to Sam, only strengthening my already poor opinion of the woman.

"And he's going to die, so we have to save him," Sam said, looking at her like she was mad.

"How sweet," Bela said with a smirk, smiling broadly at Sam.

"You think this is funny?" I asked, my voice low and irritated. Bela turned to look at me, amusement written all over her face.

"He's cannon fodder," she said, shaking her head. "He can't be saved in time, and you know it." Dean looked over at Sam who was shaking his head. Sam turned on his heel and walked away from Bela, moving toward the front of the car, Dean followed suit, leaving me standing there, gun still in my hands, Dean's earlier words of '_Not in public' _running through my head.

"Yeah, well, see, we have souls, so we're gonna try," Dean snapped at her and she watched him as he opened the car door.

"Yeah, well I'm actually going to find the ship and put an end to this," Bela retorted. "But you have fun!" My stomach turned as I watched her, seeing a little sense to her plan. John had always taught me to follow my gut, but I wasn't happy that Bela seemed to be taking the more affirmative action in this case. I watched her quietly while Dean walked back toward her, jumping in with his usual goading.

"Hey, Bela, how'd you get like this, huh? What, did Daddy not give you enough hugs or something?" He asked and she turned her steely gaze to look at him.

"I don't know, your Daddy give you enough?" She asked, raising her eyebrow and meeting him quip for quip. "Don't you dare look down your nose at me. You're not better than I am."

Dean's green eyes met mine for a brief moment, and something flashed behind there, a doubt that was always there even though he truly did believe what he was about to say. I knew what he would say, because it was the same line we always threw back at people when they questioned the Winchester family about their motives.

"We help people," Dean said, his eyes flashing angry.

"Oh come on," Bela said sceptically. "You do this out of vengeance and obsession. You're a stone's throw from being a serial killer." Dean turned to look at Sam, who was glaring silently at the woman. An amused look upon his face, Dean turned back with a furrowed brow, almost rolling his eyes at Bela. "Whereas I, on the other hand, I get paid to do a job and I do it. So, you tell me – which is healthier?"

"Bela, why don't you just leave?" Sam asked, looking tired and fed up with the woman. "We've got work to do."

"Yeah. You're zero for two. Bang-up job so far," she commented, and I stared at her, fighting back the unusual homicidal rage coming up inside of me. She frustrated me, then again, most people did these last few weeks. I was putting it down to the ticking time bomb inside my head. I was unable to assuage my anger, my terror at what was slowly moving closer and closer, so I wanted to take it out on anyone around me who I deemed worthy.

With a final smirk, Bela turned on her heel and walked away, her long brown hair swishing down her back as she reached her car and climbed in.

* * *

_**Peter Warren's House**_

_**Later that night**_

**Dean's POV**

Beth had her nose buried in the journal again. Sam was researching on the computer and I was staring at the house we were staking out. Just another perfectly good Thursday evening at the Winchesters.

"Anything good?" I asked Sam, looking over at the screen. Sam sighed and shook his head. I looked back out the window to see Peter moving around in the house with a box.

"No, not really," Sam said. "I mean, both brothers are Duke University grads. No criminal record. I mean, a few speeding tickets. They inherited their father's real estate fortune six years ago.

"How much?" I asked, looking at him.

"$112 million," Sam said. I whistled, impressed.

"Nice life," Beth commented from the back, not looking up from the journal, but obviously listening to what we were saying.

Sam glanced back at her. "Yeah. I mean, nice, clean, above board. So why did they see the ship?" Beth snapped the journal closed and put it back in her bag, leaning forward to rest her arms on the front seat.

"Why Sheila too? What do they all have in common?" She asked.

"Maybe nothing," I offered with a shrug, maybe the clipper was appearing to people at random and it was just bad luck.

"No. There's always something," Sam said quietly, reading the files on the screen again.

"Hey you!" Peter Warren had moved out of the house and spotted us, he pointed and came running down the paved driveway to the security gate.

"I think we've been made," I said to the others, and we all climbed out of the car and approached him.

"What are you guys doing?! You watching me?" Peter asked in an agitated state. I had to wonder if there were more to it than just finding us parked out the front of his home.

"Sir, calm down. Please," Sam said.

"You guys aren't cops! Not dressed like that. Not – not in that crappy car," Peter said.

I looked at him and raised my eyebrow. "Whoa, hey. No need to get nasty," I said with a smirk. He could just leave Baby out of this, she hadn't done anything to him. Beth snickered next to me, sobering when I gave her a look that decreed I was not impressed with her laughter – insulting my car was no laughing matter!

"We are cops, okay?" Sam placated, holding his hands out. "We're undercover. We're here because we think you're in danger." Peter stopped long enough to throw us a questioning look.

"From who?!" He asked, still agitated.

"If you just settle down, we'll talk about it," Sam said, but it was a useless attempt, something had obviously gotten the guy riled, I kind of had to wonder if it was as simple as two guys and girl sitting in a car opposite his house.

"Look, you guys just stay away from me!" Peter said, starting to walk back toward the house.

"Wait," Sam said, tossing me an exasperated look.

"Hey, you moron!" I yelled at him. "We're trying to help you!" Beth shook her head at me, and I agreed, it wasn't going to help matters with the tone and words, but he wasn't listening anyway and it felt good to call him a moron.

Peter ran to his car and got in, driving off. Before he even made it to the gate however the car stalled and Peter started to look alarmed.

"That can't be good," Beth said and I nodded.

"Get the salt gun," I said as Sam and I tried to get inside the fence. Beth ran for the car as I gave Sam a boost over the fence, jumping up to manoeuvre myself over and follow him.

The doors to the car were locked as we reached it and inside Peter had just collapsed against the steering wheel after spitting up a bunch of water.

"Peter!" Sam said, beating at the window and trying to open the door. Beth ran up behind us carrying two guns.

"Dean!" She called out, tossing me one. I cocked it as soon as I caught it, turning it to the window. A ghostly face looked back at me from the passenger seat. It was a spirit dressed in old seaman's clothes and a navy coat. I pulled the trigger and shattered the glass, the spirit disappeared.

Beth moved in beside me, holding her own shotgun. With the spirit gone, Sam was able to get the door open and check the vitals of Peter, feeling around for a pulse. He looked up at us and shook his head, nothing, the man was well and truly dead. I kicked the door in frustration, _we had been right here!_

* * *

_**Dallas, Texas**_

_**12 years ago**_

**John's Journal**

_I got Beth into school, finally. It wasn't easy, there's a ridiculous amount of paperwork you need to supply to do that. She's using her mother's maiden name. I debated making her a Winchester, but there's too much of a paper trail with the boys, someone might pick up something in their student transcripts and start wondering just where a sister had cropped up. So we're using the cover that she's a stepsister._

**John's POV**

I'd been called to the school, something about Dean beating up a kid. I cursed his hot headedness. This wasn't the first time he'd gotten into a fight, but he was usually smart enough to do it off school grounds where officials wouldn't have to be involved. They'd said Beth had been involved too, and that had me a little concerned, every day I kept questioning my sanity over bringing her with us: especially when stuff like this happened.

The school corridors were now empty of children, they'd all gone home for the day. Sam was sitting out the front of the Principal's office, his head buried in a book while he waited for his brother and sister who had been detained until I got there.

"Sammy," I said as he looked up at me. He smiled weakly at me and shrugged.

"What's going on Dad?" He asked, glancing at the door opposite him. "Why are Dean and Beth in there?"

"I'm about to find out," I said with a sigh, ruffling his hair. "Just hang here for a little longer, okay?" He sighed and nodded, turning back to his book.

I turned and knocked on the door, turning the handle and letting myself in as someone called out for me to enter. I was used to old tired schools, filled with the dirt and grime of time having passed with little more to offer than a sad tale of lives unfulfilled, sporting nothing more than broken dreams.

This office however spoke of money, and lots of it. Even as a public school, there were pristine white walls, and perfectly covered floors – linoleum, but in perfect condition. The chairs in the room matched the desk, and a couch was propped against the side wall for extra visitors.

The couch currently contained Beth, curled up with her knees to her chest, chin resting on them while she hugged herself, eyes all red from having been crying. I frowned, looking at Dean who was pacing the room, his body a tightly coiled spring ready to pounce.

"Sit down young man," the Principal said, glasses perched upon the bridge of her nose as she stared at Dean moving around the room. Dean glanced over as I entered the room, and threw himself into a chair with a glare.

"Ma'am," I said, looking at the woman, her hair rolled into a knot at the base of her neck, she waved me into the remaining seat, turning pale blue eyes to me.

"Mr Winchester, I'm Sally Doyle," she started, shaking my hand. "I'm afraid we've had an incident, and I need to start by saying that here at _Dallas High _we simply don't condone the kind of vigilante violence that we witnessed from your son..."

Dean snorted, interrupting her with a shake of his head. He beat his hands on the arms of the chair and I threw him a stern look. He fell quiet beside me and I looked back at the woman.

"What exactly happened?" I asked, not liking the way this was sounding.

"Your son started a fight with one of the students in his class," she said and again Dean huffed.

"Yeah, right," he muttered, again I looked at him and he fell silent.

"What have I told you about fighting Dean?" I asked, I was clearly going to have to lecture him again on the need to keep a low profile.

"What? I didn't start it!" Dean snapped, and he glanced back at Beth.

"You threw the first punch," Sally said, looking at Dean sternly.

"He had it coming!" Dean responded and I sighed, running a hand along my face. They always had it coming where Dean was concerned.

"I'm sorry," Sally said, "but I simply don't believe this story you and your sister have concoct..."

"Concocted?!" Beth muttered from the couch, her voice raw and broken from crying. I glanced over at her, she was looking incredulously at the woman who shook her head sadly at Beth.

"You people have some freaking nerve," Dean snapped, standing up and storming to the back of the room before spinning around. He moved toward the desk, leaning on it, getting up in Sally's face. "If I hadn't arrived when I did, that bastard would have more than a broken nose, let me tell you, he'd be dead!"

Beth started crying again and Dean backed away from the woman at the desk, who was looking at him. I thought I detected a slight panic in her eyes, but it retreated and was pushed behind her cold facade when Dean went to sit with Beth, pulling her into him and resting his chin on her head.

"What the hell is going on here?" I asked, realising something was amiss.

"Your daughter, stepdaughter, has decided to join in with your son in making up some far fetched story. I'm telling you, I won't have these lies being circulated about one of our most prestigious families!" Sally said, standing up and leaning on the desk.

"What story are you claiming she's made up, exactly?" I asked, glancing over at her. Alarm bells were going off inside my head: Beth didn't make up stories, not even to save Dean's hide.

Dean made an angry noise from across the room and I met his gaze, he was seething, something had clearly gone wrong here.

"Prestigious Boy decided it was well within his rights to pull her into the toilets and have his way with her," Dean said. "And his little circle of frat wannabes were there egging him on."

"Now, just a minute..." Sally objected.

"Is this true?" I snapped at her, she looked at me, fear in her eyes. I knew in an instant what was going on here. Money. Money talks and bullshit walks, and there was a fair amount of both being thrown around here.

"When she managed to fight him off, the bastard pulled a gun on her," Dean continued, and Beth shuddered, recollecting the moment. "A freaking gun! In a school?!" He glared at the woman.

"We found no evidence..." she stared, but Dean was on a roll.

"You think I was gonna let him keep it?!" Dean snapped, cutting off what she was going to say. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a standard .45 beretta and leaned forward to hand it to me. I took it by the grip and looked it over, popping the clip to see that he'd already emptied the ammo out. _Good boy._

"This is hardly standard issue school attire, even for Texas," I commented to Sally, who had turned a shade whiter.

"If I hadn't happened to walk in at the exact right moment..." Dean muttered, looking at Beth and pulling her closer to him. I frowned, unhappy with where he'd been going with his story. I was starting to notice a few things out of place now. A ripped skirt, and Beth was currently wearing Dean's overshirt, so I didn't even want to know what had happened to the top she'd had on.

"Scott Preston is a fine, upstanding young man in our community. He has never been accused of anything of the sort, I find it very hard to believe..."

"You mean, he's just never been caught," I muttered, standing up. I walked over to Beth and knelt down in front of her, she met my gazing unflinchingly.

"Is it true?" I asked softly. She nodded, sniffing and sitting up a little straighter. I scowled. _God dammit. My kids were supposed to be safe at school! What? Did I have to be with them twenty-four seven in order to ensure their safety? _I glanced back at the closed door, suddenly a little concerned about Sammy sitting out there all on his own, there was still the added situation of a rugaru running around somewhere in town too.

"Mr Winchester," Sally said, looking over at me. "I have managed to convince the boy's father not to press charges, but I'm afraid you're going to have to withdraw the children from our school, we simply cannot have this kind of behaviour occurring within our walls."

"You've convinced him...?" I looked at her incredulously. "What about my daughter?" I asked angrily, standing up and spinning to face her. "What about what would have happened to her if Dean hadn't walked in on them?"

"Well, it's simply their word against that offered by all four of our finest families," she said, spelling it out. I sucked in a breath, and turned back to the kids.

"Right, I get it," I said, fuming. "Let's go kids." Sally breathed a sigh of relief, barely imperceptible, but it was there. I sighed, there was nothing I could do here. I just had to pull the kids out and leave – too much money in this town to effect a change.

Dean scowled, standing up and pulling Beth to her feet. We exited the room, and Sammy joined us, looking on curiously as I stormed down the hallway.

A man and his son exited the nurses station as I neared it, and he had the nerve to turn on me.

"Hey! Hey!" He said, walking up in his perfect black suit and tie, not a hair out of place, expensive watch on his wrist. I stopped and looked at him, Dean and Beth lulling behind as she started to breathe faster at the sight of the young man, whose nose was currently plastered. Dean had obviously done a good job in breaking it, I smirked, for the first time proud of the fact that Dean had gotten into a fight.

"I'm going to nail your son's ass to the wall over this! My son has a modelling contract, he had an important shoot in two days!" The man said, getting in my face and shoving me back.

"He ought to be thankful a broken nose is the only thing he's sporting after what he tried to do to my daughter," I said darkly, and the man paused, glancing over at Beth and taking in the sight of her.

He smirked, looking at me. "My son doesn't have to force a girl into anything, look at him! If anything, she's just trying to defend her honour when in reality she was asking for it."

There was the sound of bones crunching. I didn't even remember moving, I saw the aftermath however. Blood spurted out from the nose of the man, and his son ran to grab him. He roared in fury and pain, holding his nose.

"You bastard!" He cried, "I'm going to have your ass mounted on my wall!"

"Just try it you son of a bitch," I said, my voice dropping an octave. "Because I'm willing to bet this isn't the first time golden boy has tried to take something he wasn't offered. If I dig deep enough, I bet I can uncover a whole closet full of skeletons, and I'm not above going to the media with it. I'm sure they'd have a field day with the information, a nice, _prestigious _family like yours." They were empty threats, but I had a good poker face.

He bought it. Standing up, the man backed away, staring at me.

"Get out of my town," he snarled, turning on his foot and shoving his son toward the door. I turned to see the kids staring at me with grins on their faces. I sighed. Sometimes it just wasn't worth getting out of bed in the morning.

**John's journal continued...**

_Thankfully, Beth is a smart girl. I've altered her birth documents to put her the same age as Dean – as a stepsister we can pull this off. She'll be in his classes from now on. It's the only way I can ensure that she has him with her as protection. I don't want a repeat of what happened in Dallas. I've upped her hand to hand combat training against more than one attacker, because in the case of something like that attack happening again, she needs to be able to defend herself. Groups will always be an issue, but it's just a matter of her getting stronger, she has the skills, she just needs to use them. I think I'm almost ready to try her on a hunt again._

* * *

_**Impala**_

_**Present Day**_

**Beth's POV**

The radio was blaring across the speakers and a couple of weathermen were discussing the incoming bad weather, everyone needed to be battening down the hatches, and here we were heading straight into the storm.

Dean reached a hand across to the dash and shut off the radio, looking into the back seat where Sam was sitting, staring out the window.

"Do you want to say it, or should I?" Dean asked.

"What?" Sam asked sullenly.

"You can't save everybody, Sam." Dean said, turning back to the road.

"Yeah, right, so – so what, you feel better now or what?" Sam asked. He had been very quiet since we left the house, and had that sour expression on his face that was all too common these days.

"No, not really," Dean answered with a shrug.

"Me neither," Sam said with a sigh.

Dean turned back, exchanging a glance with me before looking at Sam again. "You gotta understa..."

"It's just lately, I feel like I can't save anybody!" Sam interrupted, and I turned in my seat to look at him sympathetically. I knew what he meant, this search for a way out, to save Dean, it was taking its toll on everyone, Dean included, even though he'd never admit it.

We fell silent, nothing more to say. I sighed, leaning back in my seat and watching the lights of the houses rush by.

* * *

_**Holiday House**_

_**The Next Morning**_

**Beth's POV**

We'd _acquired _a house for the duration of our stay. A holiday home that no one was using currently.

It was morning and I was reading John's journal again while Sam was on the laptop doing research. Dean was playing with his phone, scrolling through contacts or something. We were at a loss as to where to start for the day.

A knock sounded at the door, all of us looking up at the same time. Dean stretched his legs and stood up, shaking his body a little to work out the tightness from sitting for too long as he strode across the room. He looked through the little window at the door, and then rolled his eyes at Sam and I.

Sam grabbed a gun and put it in his lap before nodding to Dean. I sat up, tucking my own gun down the side of the couch behind a cushion, putting the journal under another cushion for safe keeping. Without any fanfare he opened the door, swinging it wide.

Bela was standing on the other side with a smirk on her face, she walked through the door, looking around.

"Dear God, are you actually squatting?" She asked with an amused tone. No one answered her. "Charming," she said with a raised eyebrow as Dean closed the door behind her. "So, how did things go last night with Peter?"

Again none of us responded, and she glanced between the faces of each one of us. "That well, huh?"

"If you say 'I told you so', I swear to God I'll start swinging," Dean muttered, glaring at the woman. I chuckled, I was going to go one up on him, I was going to shoot her – we weren't in public anymore.

"Look, I think the four of us should have a heart to heart," she said.

"That's assuming that you have a heart," I quipped back at her, standing up, making no effort to hide the small hand pistol I was holding.

"Beth, please... I'm sorry about what I said before, okay? I come bearing gifts," she said.

"Such as?" Sam asked, watching her from where he was still seated.

"I've ID'd the ship," she said, looking at us all. She put down the document wallet she was holding and opened it, pulling out a photo of a clipper. "It's the _Espirito Santo, _a merchant sailing vessel, quite a colourful history. In 1859 a sailor was accused of treason. He was tried aboard a ship in a kangaroo court and hanged. He was 37."

"Which would explain the 37 year cycle," Dean commented with a nod.

"Aren't you the sharp tack?" She smirked and got a glare for her trouble. "I have a photo of him somewhere...here." She rifled through the photos in front of her, coming up with an old black and white photo of a man standing by a ship.

"Isn't that the customer we saw last night?" Dean asked, handing me the photo. I nodded, it was definitely him, maybe a drowned rat version, it was him for sure.

"You saw him?" Bela asked.

"Yeah, that's him, except he was missing a hand," Dean commented, and I raised an eyebrow at him. I'd failed to notice.

"His right hand?" Bela asked.

"How'd you know?" Sam asked, apparently he'd seen it too. Damn, was I really that distracted lately that something so obvious had slipped my attention?

"The sailor's body was cremated," Bela said grimly. "But not before they cut off his hand to make a _hand of glory._" She said. I leaned forward, this I had heard of.

"A hand of glory – didn't you give me one of those at the end of that massage last week?" Dean said suggestively to me with a chuckle. I rolled my eyes and threw him a smile, he was completely incorrigible.

"Not quite the same thing, Dean," I said with a grin. "The right hand of a hanged man is a serious cult object and very powerful," I added, looking at Bela.

"So they say," she commented.

"And officially counts as remains," Dean pointed out. We would definitely need to find and burn the hand.

"But still, none of this explains why the ghost is choosing these victims," Sam said with a shrug.

"I'll tell you why," Bela said and Sam looked at her expectantly. She rolled her eyes. "Who cares?! Find the hand, burn it and stop the bloody thing."

"I don't get it. Why are you telling us all of this?" Dean asked suspiciously, and I cast an appraising eye at her, I'd been wondering the same thing.

"Because I know exactly where the hand is," she stated.

"Where?" I asked, frowning.

"At the Sea Pines Museum. It's a crap bit of maritime history. But I need help," she said, looking at Dean.

"What kind of help?" Sam asked. Bela smirked and I knew I wasn't going to like it.

* * *

_**Later that evening**_

**Beth's POV**

I was standing in the living room, arms crossed and glaring at Bela who was dressed in a sexy little black dress. She looked up the stairs and sighed.

"What is taking so long?" She called out. "Sam's already halfway there... with his date." I grimaced, recalling the look on Sam's face when he'd found out that he was attending the charity ball at the museum with Gertrude Case. The older woman had been all too keen to take him, her little _toyboy. _

"So not okay with this!" Dean yelled back down the stairs and I had to stop and wonder just what part was concerning him, there were so many things that were troubling me about this whole arrangement right now. I grit my teeth and bit back a remark, sometimes you just had to take one for the team.

"What are you, a woman? Come down already!" Bela called back.

Black shiny shoes appeared at the stop of the stairs, and my eyes trailed up over classy black pants as Dean started to descend the stairs. Bela's breath caught at the sight of Dean as he reached the ground floor, completely resplendent in a black tux. I had to agree, he looked deliciously edible. I swallowed, looking at the dashing form in front of me, and glanced back at Bela.

"All right, get it out," Dean said, sighing and throwing his arms out. "I look ridiculous."

"Not exactly the word I'd use," Bela said breathlessly.

I shifted uncomfortably, turning a steely gaze toward her.

"What?" Dean asked, completely missing the undertones in her voice.

"You know, when this is over, we should really have angry sex," Bela said, completely ignoring the fact that I was in the room. Dean stared at her, a little taken aback, and then glanced at me, smiling as if to say he was about to start counting Bela as part of our phone number competition. He saw the unimpressed look on my face and turned back to Bela, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Don't objectify me," he said, shaking his head. "Let's go."

I followed him down the hallway and he stopped, holding the door for Bela who slipped through with a cocky smile at me. I looked around for my gun, I wasn't happy.

"You know what, suddenly I'm so not okay with this plan," I said, biting my lip. I didn't like the way Bela was looking at Dean, like she could eat him up and still be home in time for breakfast.

"Hey, you think I like being in this monkey suit... going to some fancy shindig, _with her?!" _Dean said, reaching a hand up to my face. "But she's got the invite sugarpie, and she wasn't budging." I sighed and nodded. Bela had stopped to look back at us exasperatedly. I glared at her and closed the door, sliding my hands around Dean's waist.

"You do look, really, really good. Good enough to eat," I said with a cheeky smile. Dean's face beamed at the compliment and he looked like he was about to primp. Instead I leaned up to him, brushing my lips across his with a sizzling heat passing between us. He moaned, leaning into the kiss and sliding a tongue between my lips to dance with my own. Hands slid around my waist and he pushed me up against the wall, moving to kiss down my neck drawing breathless gasps from me.

Bela opened the door, slamming it into Dean's side and he grunted. "Christ!" He said, "do you mind? I'm having a private moment here!"

"I can see that," Bela said with a raised eyebrow. "I promise I'll give him back Beth, if he behaves, I may even return him without too much molestation."

I sighed and looked at Dean, letting my displeasure show clearly in my eyes. He looked at me sympathetically and leaned down to kiss me once more, softly and a lot more chaste than before. "We'll be back before you know it," he said, leaning in to my ear. "You know what to do."

With another sigh I leaned back against the wall, glaring at Bela once more as they walked down the pathway.

* * *

_**Sea Pines Museum**_

**Dean's POV**

I could still see Beth's brown eyes staring at me, even when we arrived at the Museum. I was chewing nervously on some gum and Bela looked at me with great distaste.

"Are you chewing gum?" She asked, looking at me incredulously. "Try to behave as if you've lived this life before, yeah?" I sighed and spat the gum into my hand, looking around for somewhere to put it. I walked over to the fountain in the middle of the table and stuck the gum under the rim of the bowl. Bela rolled her eyes at me. One thing about Beth, she never, ever nagged me to be something I wasn't. God there was a comfort in that.

Gert and Sam walked past us and I couldn't help but notice the tight grip she had on Sam's arm. "This'll get their tongues wagging, hey my Adonis?" She said cheekily, grinning up at him.

"Just remember, we're on business," Sam reminded her, looking a little uncomfortably at me. I agreed, business, and narrowed my eyes at Bela.

"Ohhhh, but sometimes business can be pleasure, hmm?" Gert said, stroking his chest.

"Right," Sam said sighing. Bela and I walked toward the bar, and I looked over at her as Gert escorted Sam away into the crowd. I hoped she hadn't heard Gert's declaration of business and pleasure, because as far as Beth was concerned, the two of them were to stay completely separated in this instance. I didn't even want to think about what Beth would do to Bela if she tried anything. I looked at myself in the mirror against the wall, grinning, not that I could blame her for trying, I did look irresistible.

Sam came rushing back to me, looking a little anxious. "Exactly how long do you expect me to entertain my date?" He asked, glancing back at Gert who was eyeing him off from across the room.

"As long as it takes," Bela said, shaking her head at me.

"Look, there's security all over this place, all right?" I said. "This is an uncrashable party without Gert's invitation, so..."

"We can crash anything, Dean," Sam interrupted and I paused. He was right.

"Yeah, I know. But this is easier and it's a lot more entertaining," I said with a grin. I found it funny that Beth hadn't pushed me on that fact, something was definitely up with the girl.

"You know there are limits to what I'll do, right?" Sam said, and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Ohhh, he's playing hard to get, that's cute." I said, turning to take a glass of champagne from the bar. I looked at Bela and inclined my head. "Come on," I said and she stood up. As I passed Sam I leaned in to him, I couldn't resist just one more little dig. "I want all the details in the morning!" I said as I handed a glass of champagne to Bela.

"Thank you," she said graciously, taking the glass with a smile. I followed her, casting a gaze back at Sam. Gert was standing in front of him, holding a couple of glasses of champagne. She smiled and Sam took a glass, they chinked in a toast and then I chuckled as Sam downed his champagne all in one go. _Way to go Sammy._

Bela led the way out to the back of the museum, we put our glasses down, turning all business. She leaned against a balustrade and cast a look around at the security guards.

"Private security?" She asked and I shook my head.

"I don't think so, look at the way they're standing, they're pros. Probably state troopers moonlighting," I said, they were tough all right, and they meant business. I didn't like the idea of getting into a tussle with any of them.

"Posted at every door, too," Bela pointed out.

"Yeah, I don't think we're just going to be able to waltz upstairs," I said, looking about.

"What do you suggest?" She asked, looking at me. I screwed up my nose, this is why I liked having Beth with me, she came up with the good plans, I just did things ad hoc and hoped for the best.

"I'm thinking," I said to her. Bela looked amused.

"Don't strain yourself," she said. I frowned, but I had nothing, I was planless. "Interesting how the legend is so much more than the man," I smirked at her.

"Well you know what they say," I said, "...behind every great man..."

"...there is a great woman." Bela smirked. "Interesting. Didn't think she had it in her, nor you to credit her. I guess you really do care about the girl."

"Don't tell her that, I got a reputation to uphold," I said with a grin, and Bela rolled her eyes at me.

"Maybe I should have brought Beth as my date?" Bela said, raising her eyebrow in challenge.

"You got any bright ideas, I'm all ears," I said.

"Okay," Bela said, and without warning she faked a faint, leaning into me as she fell to the floor. I caught her in my arms, and knelt down near her on the floor.

"Honey, honey, are you all right?" I said, faking concern. I looked around the room while Bela lay limp in my arms. A waiter stood a few feet away and I caught his attention. "Waiter! Waiter. My wife has a severe shellfish allergy. There's no crab in that?" I asked, pointing to a tray he was holding.

"No, sir," the waiter said. I eyed off the little cakes on the tray and took one, shoving one in my mouth. "They're excellent, by the way," I commented, chewing and swallowing the delectable little morsel.

A guard approached us, all stiff and impersonal, as if someone had put too much starch in his undies. "What seems to be the trouble?" He asked.

I glanced up. "Ahhh, champagne, my wife, she's a lightweight when it comes to the sauce. Is there somewhere I can lay her down till she gets her sea legs back?" I asked. He paused and then glanced up the stairs toward the private rooms.

"Follow me," he said, surprising me because I didn't think he was going to fall for something that simple.

"Right, thank you," I said handing the guard her purse and lifting Bela into my arms. "Come on, you lush," I said, biting back the temptation to call her _Tinkerbell. _That name was reserved for Beth, and Beth alone, when it came to drunken escapades.

The guard led us upstairs to an office and with a grunt I put Bela down on the leather couch, not taking a lot of care.

"You think she's a pain in the ass now, try living with her," I said to the guard, showing him to the door. "Thank you very much," I said, closing the door behind him.

I turned back to the woman on the couch who was now sitting up and looking at me wide-eyed. "Maybe next time give me a little heads up with your plan?" I said.

"I didn't want you thinking, you're not very good at that," she commented, leaning casually against the back of the couch. I snickered, thinking about a comeback, but again, I had nothing.

"Oh, look at you searching for a witty rejoinder," Bela said with a smirk.

"Screw you," I said.

"Very Oscar Wilde. Room 235, it's in a locked glass case wired for alarm, I'm sure that won't be a problem?" She said.

I felt my inner six-year-old coming out, rolling my eyes and mimicking back at her the same comment. "I'm sure that won't be a problem," I said screwing up my face at her. _Of course it wasn't going to be a problem, what did she take me for?_

The room was easy enough to find, the shrivelled up hand of glory sat exactly where Bela said it would, on display in a glass case. I shuddered to look at it, gross. It was no Snow White, that was for sure. Kneeling in front of the case I opened the panel underneath the glass, and took out my tools, working quickly. Within moments the alarm was off and I had the hand in my possession.

I stuffed it into my jacket and moved back out into the hallway. I passed the guard on his way back from the room, and glanced furtively at the door.

"Oh sorry, uhhh, nature called," I said, and he looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh huh," he said.

"Thanks for looking after my wife," I said, looking down the hallway toward where Bela was.

"Oh, she's being looked after all right," he said with a shake of his head, walking off. I looked at him, confused, and then shrugged, moving back to the room. When I opened the door and rejoined Bela, she was slipping back into her dress. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what had been going on in here.

"Any trouble?" I asked.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," she said with a grin. "The hand?" I pulled it out of my suit jacket and looked it over. Man, it was fugly.

Bela took a few steps toward me, her eyes never leaving the hand. "May I?" She asked.

"No," I said with a smirk, snatching it out of her reach. _What did she take me for? _I pulled the handkerchief out of my pocket and shook it out, wrapping the hand up.

"It might be more inconspicuous in my purse," she said.

"Nice try," I said, pointing out that I wasn't fooled by her for a second.

"Just trying to be helpful," Bela said.

"Well, sweetheart, I don't need your kind of help," I said, putting the hand back in my suit jacket and chuckling internally. If Beth could only see me now, she needed to have more faith in my ability to ward off women's charms.

* * *

_**Downstairs**_

**Sam's POV**

This song had been going on forever and a day, would it never end? Gert was clinging to me, one arm draped over my shoulder holding an empty champagne glass, while her head rested on my chest.

"Man, this is one long song," I commented.

"I hope it never ends," she said, taking a deep breath. "How's the investigation going?"

"These things take time," I said elusively.

"People are talking about the Warren brothers' deaths. Strange. Do you think it's connected to Sheila?" She asked me.

"Yeah, yeah we think so," I said, looking down at the bright eyes staring up at me all flirtatious and cheeky.

"I think they had it coming," Gert said, moving her head back to my chest. "In a biblical sort of way."

"What do you mean?" I asked, getting her attention.

"You know about their father?" She whispered.

"No?" I asked.

"Come here, I'll whisper it to you." She pulled me in before I could do anything about it, her lips brushing against my earlobe as she spoke. "People say that the old man didn't die of natural causes," she said.

"Then how?" I asked.

"Rumour is the boys did it. Nothing was ever proven, but people still whisper," she said. I felt her lips kiss my ear and I pulled away, completely weirded out.

"Okay, okay. So... did Sheila have any connection to them?" I asked.

Gert frowned and shook her head. "None that I know of."

"Did Sheila have any kind of tragedy in her life?" I asked, taking a different tact.

"Yes, as a matter of fact there was a … car accident when she was a teenager," Gert said.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Her car flipped over, she was okay, but her cousin Brian was killed. Why, is that important?" She asked. I thought about it, maybe it was.

"Well, having a nice time?" Bela asked with a smile, she and Dean coming up to us.

"He's delightful!" Gert said, putting her head back on my chest. She pulled away at Bela's smile and walked over to the woman. "He wants me," she said conspiratorially .

Bela looked at us both and smiled. "I'm going to get Gert into a cold shower," she said. I nodded my complete agreement.

"Good idea," I said as Bela pulled the resistant Gert out the door.

"See you at the cemetery!" Bela called back at us. I turned to look at Dean who was gazing at me curiously.

"You stink like sex," he said and I rolled my eyes.

"You got it right?" I asked, loosening the bow at my neck. "Tell me I didn't get groped all night by Mrs Havisham for nothing," I pleaded as we walked outside.

"I got it..." Dean replied confidently as we climbed into the car, then turned confused eyes to me. "Mrs who?"

"Never mind, just let me see it," I said, gesturing for the hand.

Dean reached into his jacket and pulled it out, unwrapping the item from his handkerchief. His mouth fell open and I glanced over to see him holding a small, thin glass bottle with a miniature replica of a ship.

"I'm gonna kill her!" Dean snapped, hitting the steering wheel. Bela Talbot had just pulled the switch on us again.

* * *

_**Shreveport, Louisiana**_

_**12 years ago**_

**John's Journal**

_Dean and I are taking Beth on another hunt tonight. It's been a month, I think she's ready to try again. She's determined and stubborn, just like Dean, so I've given in to my reservations and decided to let her go. We're hunting a wraith, it's been in the local nursing home, feeding on the old people. There was talk about a monster walking the corridors at night, eating the brains of the residents. Sounds like a wraith to me. I sent Dean in with Beth to cover one ward, I took the other._

**Dean's POV**

I looked at Beth, we were in our regular street clothes, impersonating a couple of teens come to visit Grandma. We stalked through the corridors, looking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" I asked her quietly and she nodded, looking up at me.

"Yes," she said simply, fingering the silver knife tucked into her sleeve. She appeared calm and collected, and I wanted to believe her, but at the same time, it wouldn't matter to me if she never got into hunting – better for her not to if you asked me. She was a gentle soul who had faith in angels and God, I had trouble reconciling that with a life of killing.

An anguished cry echoed down the hallway and we exchanged a look. We rounded the hallway, following the sounds that were more and more becoming those of a struggle.

"No! No! Back demon!" We burst through a door into a man's private rooms and found a young nurse straddling him on the bed. A spike protruded from the palm of her hand and she held it over the man's head. As we burst through the door she turned to look at us, smiling, moving her hand behind her back. It was too late, we'd seen it, we knew who she was. Still, she decided to try and fake her way out of it anyway.

"Hello there, can I help you?" She asked sweetly, climbing down from the bed.

"Yeah, uh, we're looking for Mr... uh... Rogers. He's our Grandpa," I said to her, smiling and putting my arm around Beth's shoulders.

"I'm not familiar with Mr Rogers, is he in the other wing?" The nurse said, moving around toward us.

"Uhh, maybe, yeah," I said with a nod. "Why don't you show us?"

She nodded and moved toward us, at the last moment she lunged for me, grabbing my shirt and spinning me into the wall. A loud crack sounded as I hit my head, I saw stars pop up behind my eyelids as the crushing weight of my brain hitting my skull left me dizzy.

I slid down the wall, my limbs all loose and uncontrolled, and it felt like I was going to throw up. Beth was completely immobile, staring at the wraith who smirked at me, the spike protruding ominously from her palm. She reared her hand back and I flinched, waiting for the inevitable searing pain that was about to happen even though I struggled to get out from underneath her.

It never came. Suddenly Beth was behind the creature, and she thrust her silver knife deep into her back, hitting the heart from behind. The creature roared, shimmering before my very eyes from a young, virile red headed nurse to a decaying corpse, black and sagging, her hair falling out in chunks.

I gagged, and pushed the body away. Beth stood over me, knife in hand, having held on to it as the body fell to the ground, pulling loose. She looked down at me, slight horror in her eyes.

"Took you long enough," I grunted, trying to sit up.

Beth sucked in a breath, staring at her hands which were covered in blood.

"Beth," I said, trying to bring her back from wherever it was she'd gone inside her mind. She blinked, looking at me.

"I killed him," she whispered, tears coming to her eyes.

"Uh, her, I think," I said, looking at the wraith, pushing against the wall until I was standing in front of her. Brown troubled eyes stared back at me.

"Not her..." she said quietly before looking down at her hands again. "Dad."

I sucked in a breath and realised where she'd gone. Back to that day. I took the knife from her, putting it in my jacket; then I took her hands in mine, just like I had the day we'd met, she was turning them over and over and I held them tight.

"Not you didn't," I said. I looked down at the corpse on the floor, the old man had fainted on the bed, and we were in the middle of the whole complicated situation. I took her hand, pulling her out the glass door that led from the room into the gardens beyond. I had to get us away from the scene.

There was a bench under a tree and I sat us down, reaching out to take Beth's face in my hands.

"You didn't, it wasn't you, it's not your fault," I said, and she looked at me, crying.

"You don't know that, it's my fault I was possessed, I was weak!" She said.

"No you weren't," I said, sighing, pulling her in to me again. She sank into my chest with a sigh of sadness. Dad found us a moment later and she pulled away, wiping back tears and sniffing.

"Did you do it?" He asked, looking at Beth. I nodded.

"Yeah, yeah she did. She was great, didn't hesitate at all." I said. It wasn't entirely true, but she'd been through enough, and when push came to shove, she'd been there with that knife to back me up, to protect me.

"Well done," Dad said, patting Beth on the shoulder. She mustered up a smile for him and nodded.

"Okay, let's go, we're done here." He said. I nodded, getting to my feet a little unsteadily. My head was still ringing and I wondered vaguely if I might have a concussion. Beth slipped her arm around my waist to help balance me and I smiled at her.

"My little protectress," I said to her, kissing the top of her head. She chuckled and shook her head at me.

"Just doing my job," she said quietly.

"And what job is that?" I asked while we walked. Dad had run ahead to get the car, seeing that I was moving slowly.

"Well, you're always looking after Sammy, so I guess it's my job to look after you," she said to me and I smiled.

"But who looks after you?" I asked, even though we already knew the answer. I just wanted to hear her say it, to know that she knew I had her back.

"You do," she said softly, bumping against me as we walked. "You promised."

"That I did," I said, nodding at her with a quirky smile. "Don't you forget it."

* * *

_**Holiday House**_

_**Present Day**_

**Dean's POV**

I was staring at the little glass bottle, with a miniature boat in it as I held it in front of the candles lighting up the room.

"You know what, you're right," I said to Sammy. "I'm not gonna kill her. I think slow torture is the way to go!" I said, starting to pace the room. We'd changed out of our monkey suits, and I was getting more and more pissed by the minute that instead of enjoying the little strip tease I had planned to do with Beth to remind her that she hadn't missed out on anything during this soiree, I was instead missing one supernatural artefact – and to top it off, I was missing Beth too!

She wasn't answering her phone. I wasn't at panic mode about that yet because it had been part of the plan to have her follow Bela if she got away from us at the party, but as each half hour passed with no contact from Beth, I was starting to get there.

"Dean, look, you gotta relax," Sam said to me.

"Relax, oh yeah, yeah, I'll relax," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose against an ensuing headache. "I can't _believe _she got another one over on us!"

"You," Sam said quietly and I turned to look at him.

"What?" I asked shortly.

"She got one over on you, not us," Sam said pointedly, placing the blame for the lost hand squarely on my shoulders.

"Thank you Sam. Very helpful!" I said loudly, shaking my head.

The door was suddenly thrown open, and an angry looking Beth shoved Bela through the door, a gun pointed at her back.

"Well well well, look who the cat dragged in," I commented. Beth raised an eyebrow at me and I couldn't help but grin at her. "Hey kitty," I said, and received a grin in return.

"Where's the hand, Bela?" Sam asked from behind me, getting straight to the point.

Bela scowled back at Beth and crossed her arms. "She sold it," Beth answered, pushing the door closed and moving past Bela into the room. "I didn't get to her in time."

"Look, I've had a buyer lined up since I knew it existed," Bela said weakly.

"So the whole reason for us going to the Charity Ball was...?" Sam prompted, though we all knew the answer.

"I needed a cover. You were convenient," she said with a shrug.

"Look, you sold it to a buyer, just go buy it back," Sam said.

"It's halfway across the ocean, he's already gone. I can't get it back in time," she said, and I realised that she was starting to look a little scared. I glanced at Beth, who was looking smugly at her, shaking her head.

"What's going on with you Bela? You look like you've seen a ghost," I said.

"She saw the ship," Beth said, raising an eyebrow at me.

"You what?" I said incredulously, looking at the woman. "Wow, you know, I knew you were an immoral thieving con artist bitch, but just when I thought my opinion of you couldn't get any lower..."

"What are you talking about?" Bela asked.

"We figured out the spirit's motive," Sam said, holding up another photo. "This is the captain of our ship. The one who hung our ghost boy."

"So?" Bela said, looking unimpressed.

"So they were brothers. Very Cain and Abel. So now our spirit, he's going after a very specific kind of target – people who've spilled their own family's blood," Sam said, and Bela's eyes widened.

"See first there was Sheila who killed her cousin in a car accident; and the Warren brothers, who murdered their father for the inheritance, and now you." I said, looking at her.

"My God," Beth said, stunned, looking over at Bela in the same light we were.

"So who was it Bela? Hmmm? Who'd you kill? Was it Daddy? Little sis, maybe?" I asked her, pushing her.

"It's none of your business," she snapped back at me, but her eyes said she was scared. She knew we knew, and now we knew that she knew that we knew. It was all very knowing. I grinned, feeling quite superior to her right now.

"No, you're right," Beth said, frowning at her. "Well, have a nice life – you know, whatever's left of it." She turned to me and took my arm. "Let's go."

"You can't just leave me here," Bela said, looking at the three of us.

"Watch us," I said back to her, completely in agreement with Beth on this one.

"Please," Bela begged. "I need your help."

"Our help?" I said with a smirk. "Now how could a couple of _serial killers _possibly help you?" Yeah, I was still smarting from that comment, and it wasn't going to die an easy death any time soon.

"Okay," Bela said, looking at me. "That was a bit harsh, I admit it, but it doesn't warrant a death sentence."

"That's not why you're gonna die. What did you do, Bela?" Sam asked.

"You wouldn't understand, no one did. Never mind, I'll just do what I've always done, I'll deal with it myself." Bela said, looking dejectedly at Sam.

"You do realise you just sold the one thing that could save your life?" I asked.

"I'm aware," Bela said dryly.

"But, maybe not the only thing," Sam said with a raised eyebrow. Bela looked at us cautiously, and then somewhere, under those calculating eyes, a little bit of hope started to shine. Of course we were going to help her, it's what we did.

* * *

_**Cemetery  
Present Day**_

**Beth's POV**

Sam and I were setting up the altar , a pentagram lit up at each point with candles. He poured blood we'd gotten from the local butcher into a goblet while I laid out the necessary herbs for the summoning ritual we were about to perform.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Bela asked, staring up at the full moon overhead. Dean was perched on a headstone, shotgun loaded with salt in hand, watching as Sam and I worked.

"Almost, definitely not," he said. A crack of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a loud boom of thunder, angry storm clouds had crowded in over the top of us and rain started to fall from the sky as we worked. Dean looked at me, nodding at John's journal in my hands.

"Beth, you better start reading," he said and I nodded. I zipped up my jacket and pulled the hood over my head, grimacing at the downpour that had just started. I wasn't happy about the rain getting this journal wet, it was too precious to lose to a rainstorm. At the moment, I had very little choice however, it was either read or watch Bela die.

"Aziel, Castiel, Lamisniel, Rabam..." the Latin flowed easily from my lips as Sam held a flashlight up for me to read by. I continued to read the Latin, wind picking up around us. The candle in front of me blew out, and I glanced at Sam, sharing a disconcerted look. I ran my finger under the words as I read, keeping pace with where I was at.

"Stay close!" Dean instructed Bela and she started to look around panicked. Suddenly I heard Bela yell at Dean.

"Behind you!" I glanced up to see the spirit appear behind Dean. He spun around but wasn't fast enough. The spirit sent him flying through the air and he hit a tomestone. I forced myself back to the page, Sam handing me the flashlight as he made for Dean, who had the shotgun. Bela suddenly shook as the spirit touched her face, and then she started to cough up water. I glanced up between verses, still reading the Latin as quickly as I could.

"Beth, read faster!" Dean yelled to me scrambling toward Bela who was kneeling on the ground, vomiting up water and gasping for air. Sam was looking about for the gun in the darkness.

Bela started to weep as I finished the ritual. The rain subsided and the clouds passed as the spirit of the captain appeared behind the attacking spirit.

The kind looking man who was the captain looked at his brother, love and compassion emanating from him. The younger brother looked on, angry.

"You...hanged me!" He muttered, the words cutting like knives through the air.

"I'm sorry," the Captain said with tears in his eyes.

"Your own brother!" The spirit accused.

"I'm so sorry," the Captain said sadly. The restless spirit charged at the spirit of his brother, and in a clash of water, like two waves crashing against one another, they disappeared, fading into the night's cold air.

I looked about at the family in front of me, Dean holding Bela and looking shocked at the fact that the ritual had actually worked, Sam wandering back toward us, gun in hand. I sighed with relief, we'd done it, we'd managed to release, hopefully for the better, another restless spirit – he could no longer do any harm.

* * *

_**Holiday House**_

_**Next Morning**_

**Beth's POV**

We were packing our bags, getting ready to leave when Bela strolled through the front door as if she owned the place.

She smirked, shaking her head. "You guys should learn to lock your doors. Anyone could just barge in."

I looked up from John's journal which I had come to the end of, and rolled my eyes at her. "Anyone just did," I said. "Have you come to say good bye or thank you?"

"I've come to settle affairs," Bela replied. "Giving the spirit what he really wanted, his own brother – very clever Sam," she said, tossing him a bundle of money. "So here. It's ten thousand – that should cover it. I don't like being in anyone's debt."

"So ponying up ten grand is easier for you than a simple thank you?" Dean asked with a raised eyebrow. He chuckled at the woman. "You are so damaged."

Bela smiled, looking at Dean affectionately. "Takes one to know one," Bela said quietly. Dean shook his head and grinned at her, I reflected ruefully that she probably wasn't too far off the mark with that one.

"Good bye lads," she said, then looked over at me. "Beth, take care of these guys, won't you?" I nodded silently, fighting the little inner voice in my head that was trying to tell me she wasn't too bad a person, just damaged, like the rest of us.

She walked out as quickly as she had arrived, closing the door behind her.

Sam turned to look at us, tossing the money to Dean. "She's got style, you gotta give her that," he commented.

"I suppose," Dean said, flipping through the hundred dollar bills.

"You know, Dean, we don't know where this money's been," Sam said and I chuckled.

"No," Dean said with a nod, tossing me a grin. "But I know where it's going... ahahaa!"

* * *

_**Impala**_

_**Present Day**_

**Beth's POV**

I flipped to the last entry, and smile on my face. I'd read it a few times now, but it never failed to put a smile on my face.

_This is the last entry on the subject of Beth joining us. I'm going to put these pages away, just in case Beth wants to know what happened during this time. I hope whatever I've said here helps in some way if she ever does. She's been with us six months, and I can safely say our lives have changed for the better for it. I see Sammy opening up again, smiling and enjoying laughter and friendship. He and Beth have started creating their own dart board game, and I have to say, they're pretty good at it. I shudder to think what else their devious minds will come up with over the years. Dean is less sullen, dare I say he might even be enjoying himself occasionally? I have been too hard on him, I see that now, but I was only doing the best that I could._

_I've had to be hard on Beth too, and continue to be, because she needs to be strong to face what is to come. But I rest at night, content that whatever does come, they will have each other, a real family. I'm taking them to Bobby's tomorrow, where Beth can meet a new sister to add to the family, I think she's ready. I have no idea what Nicole will think of her, she's a hot headed one that girl, but I'm hoping maybe Beth's good nature will temper her a little, like it has Dean._

_Ellen called last night, she'd just heard about Patrick. She wanted me to send Beth to her, to be raised with Jo. I didn't even have to think about the answer. Six months ago I might have considered it, because at the end of the day Ellen would have been no more a stranger than we were to Beth. But now, I can't give her up, she's my daughter, and I love her. She makes our lives brighter just being in them. I doubt she'd go, even if I ordered her to, she's a stubborn one, more so than Dean, maybe even me. I suppose you have to be in order to be a Winchester._

Dean's arms slid around my waist as he leaned in to kiss the back of my neck, peeking over my shoulder at the journal. "Did you learn anything?" He asked, stroking a hand along my stomach.

"Apparently I'm as stubborn as a Winchester," I said with a grin, turning to look back at him. He chuckled and nodded.

"No argument there," he commented, kissing me on the cheek.

I looked down at my hands, and for once they looked just like hands. I sighed, and tossed the journal on the back seat of the Impala, still leaning against the side of the car. I turned in Dean's arms to face him, kissing him softly with a smile.

"I think I found redemption," I said quietly and he looked at me puzzled.

"Redemption?" He asked.

"Mhmm," I said with a nod. "All these years I've had that question in my mind... was it my fault? Am I responsible for killing my own father?"

"And?" Dean prompted, looking at me with concerned eyes.

"I didn't see the ship," I answered him, shaking my head. "I didn't see it. I was standing right there next to Bela when she saw it. It appeared before our very eyes and she's the only one who saw it." Dean smiled, nodding. He cupped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me forward to kiss my forehead, holding me tenderly.

"I told you," he said into my hair, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

"I know," I said, burying my face into his neck, breathing in the pine earth smell that was him.

Sam walked up behind us, throwing his bag in the trunk and slamming it shut.

"Seriously, Atlantic City?" He asked, oblivious to the moment we had been having.

Dean grinned and pulled back a little. "Hell yeah, play some roulette! Always bet on black!" I chuckled, shaking my head at him.

Dean's face turned sober and he looked over at Sam. "Hey, listen. I've been doing some thinking. Um, I want you to know I understand why you did it. I understand why you went after the crossroads demon."

Sam sighed, and crossed his arms, standing beside us.

"And if the situation was reversed I guess I'd have done the same thing," Dean said, looking between the pair of us. "I mean, I'm not blind – or deaf," he said, looking at me for the last part. "I see what you guys are going through with this whole deal, me going away and all that. But you're going to be okay."

I bit my lip, determined not to get into this again, I hated it, I hated the whole conversation. The way every time we had it was like chipping away a part of my heart – pretty soon I'd have nothing left to feel with at all. Maybe that was the key, but it sure didn't feel like a good solution.

"You think so?" Sam said, this time it was his turn to have the conversation, I had lost my voice for it, my passion, it had made me numb.

"Yeah," Dean said, nodding. "You'll keep hunting, you know, you live your life. You're both stronger than me, you are..." Sam cleared his throat in disbelief. "You are... you'll get over this, get past it. But I want you to know I'm sorry, I'm sorry for... putting you through this. I am."

It had been less than a week since he and I had been over this in our heated argument, and here we were again. I closed my eyes, fighting back the futility. How he thought either of us was going to be okay without him was beyond me. It seemed also like he'd just done a complete turn about on the whole fighting to survive thing, and this frustrated me.

"You know what Dean, go screw yourself," Sam snapped and I almost laughed.

"What?" Dean asked, frowning.

"I don't want an apology from you – and by the way, I'm a big boy now, I can take care of myself." Sam said, crossing his arms and looking at the both of us. I noticed he included me in on this statement and I wrinkled up my nose.

"Oh, well excuse me," Dean said, offended.

"Will you please quit worrying about me? Both of you. I mean that's the whole problem in the first place! I don't want either of you to worry about me. I want you to worry about yourselves. Dean, I want you to give a crap that you're dying!"

I buried my face in Dean's neck again, he was very still, and said nothing to Sam's statement. I did feel his heart beat though, and it was racing.

"So what, that's it?" Sam asked. "Nothing else to say for you?"

Dean sighed, and I felt the rise of his chest under my cheek.

"I think maybe I'll play craps," Dean said and I snickered. God it was hard to stay angry with him.

Sam sighed and threw his hands in the air, walking away. I wrapped my arms around Dean and held him tightly to me, laughing quietly at the whole craps comment; I found it hysterically funny for some unknown reason.

Dean kissed the top of my head, and ran a hand through my hair.

"Come on sugarpie, we can get you a dress for the craps table," he said, and I looked up at him, pushing back all the fears and worries that had settled around my heart. I nodded.

"On one condition," I said to him.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "What?"

"You have to wear the monkey suit," I grinned. He chuckled, leaning in to kiss me.

"Deal," he said, smiling. "Now get in the car, we're burning daylight!"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter is: _Everything Burns _by Anastacia ft. Ben Moody

* * *

Sorry about the delay, hope the length makes up for it. I'm still finding it hard to get inspiration right now. I have been wanting to tell the "First Blood" story for a while now, so when I came up with the idea to work it into this episode, it suddenly took on a life of it's own, and took a bit to write up. Hope you enjoyed it.

* * *

I'm thinking I might go and do Beth's POV of _Dead in the Water _which is a flashback to early relationship Dean & Beth, right before John gives his blessing. EarthhAngel has already told John and Cole's perspective on this episode over at her story _How To Save A Life (Chapter 6) _so go check it out if you would like to read it, there's some fun Dean and Beth moments in there, with lots more to be told from Beth's POV.

PS. There's also a new Chapter up over there so get check it out when you get a minute or two – you'll get to learn a little about Beth's mother too! Thanks to EA for including me in as a collaborative writer on this fic, it's great to have the opportunity to tell some of Grace's story in this manner :)

* * *

I just wanted to say Welcome to all the new readers who have been signing up to the stories in the last few weeks – great to have you here. Please take the time to leave a review, I always try and respond and it makes me all giddy happy when people do that, it definitely inspires me to keep going!

* * *

Thanks as always to EarthhAngel and her constant support and encouragement – beta reading and letting me know where the story needs work and where it doesn't. It's always a pleasure working with you! Hugs!

* * *

Check out the Facebook page, put in the address, then add /pages/Dean-Beth-Supernatural-Fanfic/6167414450129 46

* * *

OK. Please read and review – and if you want, make suggestions on what you want to see next because I'm wide open on the inspiration front.


	10. Kittanning (Dead In The Water - Part 1)

**A/N: **Follows on from _Bring Me To Life (Parts 1,2 & 3)_ which you can read at the end of '_All Hell Breaks Loose' _It's also Beth's POV of EarthhAngel's chapter "Dead in the Water – Holy Water" over at '_How To Save A Life'. _I would recommend checking it out if you're not familiar with who Cole Singer (OFC) is and her relationship with John, because it's featured pretty prominently in this one.

This is Beth & Dean, the very beginning of their relationship while they're still hiding it from John. You'll definitely want to read _Bring Me To Life (1,2 & 3) _first if you haven't already.

The Swayze moment is dedicated to Paddy77 :D

* * *

_All night staring at the ceiling__  
__counting for minutes I've been feeling this way__  
__So far away and so alone__But you know it's alright__  
__I came to my senses__  
__Letting go of my defences__  
__There's no way I'm giving up this time__  
__Yeah, you know I'm right here__  
__I'm not losing you this time_

_And I'm all in, nothing left to hide__  
__I've fallen harder than a landslide__  
__I spent a week away from you last night__  
__And now I'm calling, calling out your name__  
__Even if I lose the game, I'm all in__  
__I'm all in tonight, yeah I'm all in, I'm all in for life_

_There's no taking back__  
__what we've got's too strong,__  
__we've had each other's back for too long__  
__There's no breaking up this time__  
__And you know it's okay, I came to my senses__  
__Letting go of my defenses__  
__There's no way I'm giving up this time_

* * *

**KITTANNING  
DEAD IN THE WATER (Part 1)  
**_**5 years ago**_

* * *

_**Kittanning, Pennsylvania**_

**Dean's POV**

Dad had left Beth and me at the house; we were supposed to be running it down, checking for EMF, traces of sulphur, and the usual drill. Instead we were arguing, and it was starting to piss me off.

"Would you just settle the hell down a minute?" I snapped at her while she stormed into the kitchen, going through cupboards, looking for salt.

"Me?!" She said, turning to look at me with a roll of her eyes. "Oh that's a good one; I'm not the one who's been giving the silent treatment for the last hundred miles because we can't agree on whether or not Sam should be going to college!"

I sighed. "We've been over this..." She cut me off short.

"Yes! We have! And we still don't agree, and I don't even know why it's such a big deal Dean!" Beth paused, looking at me as she crossed her arms over her chest.

I ran a hand through my hair. Things had totally turned upside down in a matter of days. Just last night we'd been arguing, then we'd reconciled, and by the time we crossed the Illinois state border we were fighting again – mostly because of Dad.

For the entire trip from South Dakota to Wisconsin, Dad had taken Beth in the truck with him, I got to solo it, which had been good other than I spent the entire time wondering just what he was saying to Beth, or trying to get out of her. I didn't like being apart from her like that, it took its toll, especially when we had a secret to keep.

By Wisconsin she was back in the Impala with me, but sullen and moody, not wanting to talk about whatever she'd been discussing with Dad, but clearly the topic of Sam had been hot on the agenda. By Illinois we were just butting heads, so much so that half way through Indiana I simply stopped talking.

"I thought we were past this," I said to her, sighing again.

"So did I! But clearly not Dean." Beth said to me.

"You know I am so sick and tired of all this crap. What the hell did Dad say to you earlier?" I asked, and Beth stared at me sullenly.

"Really? You're going to do the silent treatment, _with me?" _I asked incredulously, that was pretty rare for Beth, usually we shared everything.

Beth blinked back tears, her bottom lip quivering, which she bit down on hard. "It's always the same old stuff Dean, I'm tired! I'm sick and tired of being made out to be a naughty kid if I dare disagree with Dad on something. Then to get it from you too?" She sighed and hugged herself, shaking her head angrily.

"Hey, I'm sorry," I said, coming around to her and taking her hands in mine. "I don't want to fight."

"Me neither. I'm _so sick _of fighting," she said with a sigh. I pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. She slid her arms around my waist and leaned in to my chest with a shuddering breath.

"Dad thinks I'm being overly emotional and compromising the mission," she said quietly.

"Well, I can sort of see his point, you do need to get your emotions sorted Beth. We need your head in the game, not focused on Sam." She tensed in my arms and I mentally kicked myself, _damn. _I had a bad feeling that I'd just put my foot right in it.

"Are you telling me I can't do the job?" She asked, pulling back with angry eyes. It was a fear she held, that she wasn't good enough and it didn't take much to get her thinking along those lines, reacting to imaginary things.

"No, that's not what I'm saying," I said.

"Yes it is!" She said, stepping away and running her hands through her hair, looking about indignantly.

"Well dammit Beth you know better than to get carried away with this stuff," I snapped.

"You're supposed to be on my side!" She accused, hurt flashing through her eyes. I rolled my eyes out of sheer frustration; it was completely the wrong thing to do.

With an angry, frustrated noise she shoved me back and started to walk, heading out of the kitchen. I grabbed at her and she fought back, taking a swing in my direction. I reacted without thinking, wrapping my leg around hers and dropping her to the floor.

She landed with a sharply expelled breath, groaning a little. _Shit. _I knew I'd hurt her, but she wasn't letting me see it as she climbed to her feet, using the kitchen counter to support herself.

"Oh Beth..." I said apologetically, reaching out to her. A sharply held up hand stayed me, and I frowned. _Was she really going to shut me out again?_ With a shake of her head, she ran out of the room. I followed her as she made her way for the stairs.

She spun around, eyes showing her hurt. "Just... don't, Dean. Just don't. Leave me alone," she said with a strangled tone. She backed away and ran up the rest of the stairs to the second floor landing. I could see her still from where I was, and I crossed my arms, watching as she made her way along the open-plan hallway upstairs.

"Come on Beth! I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hurt you!" I called out. This stopped her, and she turned to look down at me.

"You know, if you don't think I'm any good to do this job, maybe I should just leave," she said. "Maybe I should do a Sammy, and cut and run!" I flinched when she said this last part. It was a fear that had always been present; that she'd finally figure it out, that I was no good for her, neither was the life I could offer her. Now she'd leave too, and I'd be alone.

I opened my mouth to call her back but never got that far. A startled breath caused me to pay closer attention to what we'd missed. The smell of ozone in the air, and the crushing, sweltering heat that was unseasonal.

"Beth..." I muttered, moving toward the foot of the stairs, feeling an instinctual need to get to her, now. She suddenly called out my name and I watched, shocked as an invisible force picked her up like a rag-doll. She hung suspended in the air, and then without warning I saw her propelled against the far window, splintering the glass and falling out the second-storey window.

I already had my phone out of my pocket as I ran. I dialled Dad, and had him on the line as I hit the front entrance. I had to get out of the house and to Beth.

"Dad!" I shouted into the phone, probably unnecessarily. He responded and I found the words running out of my mouth.

"You have to get back here, Beth... the poltergeist... it...she, just... it's not good, get back here, and call 911." I hung up, that was as good as he was getting, I could barely think straight.

I sprinted around the corner of the house, expecting the worst. She was a fair distance out, such was the force that she'd been thrown. I fell to my knees beside her, grasping at her. "Beth!"

"Ahhh!" She cried out, and I didn't know whether to be relieved or distressed that she was conscious and in so much pain. I didn't know where to touch, what could be wrong. I looked down and paled at the sight of a piece of wood sticking out of her side. It looked red, and nasty, splintered at the top.

"Oh, Beth... you're gonna be okay," I said, looking back at the wood. "You'll be okay," I reaffirmed, more for myself than her. She had to be okay, she just had to be. I slipped my arms under her slightly and pulled her into my lap as best I could.

She groaned into my chest as I held her, hands careful to avoid the wood in her side.

"Ahhh, god, Dean pull it out!" She said, reaching for the wood and groaning.

"No, no leave it in. Just in case," I said. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a cloth, packing it around the wood to staunch the blood flow. As I pushed firmly she groaned, and fell into me, panting as she tried to catch her breath around the stabbing pain I'd just sent through her.

My free hand held her head, and then I moved to lift her chin up, looking into her eyes. She sucked in a deep breath and then started coughing.

"Beth... Beth..." I whispered, holding her close. I didn't know what to do; Dad would have called 911, so now it was a matter of waiting.

"I'm sorry..." she coughed, pressing her face into my neck. "I didn't mean it..."

"Stop, forget it, I'm an ass," I said, shaking my head and kissing her on the forehead. This was all my fault. If we hadn't been fighting, maybe we wouldn't have stirred up the poltergeist.

"Dean..." Beth's eyes sought mine, swirling pools of chocolate brown that left me enchanted any time I looked at her. I saw what she was thinking, she thought she was dying. Well I wasn't going to let that happen, not on my watch.

"...I love you," she whispered, and I felt my eyes widen at the sudden admission. She closed her eyes, and I felt a stab of panic run through me.

"You're not dying," I said to her, she coughed again, this time a small amount of blood coming up.

"You can't," I said to her. "You can't leave me," I had never felt more vulnerable in my life. Somehow I had to get this woman to keep fighting, to stay with me.

I grinned down at her. "Who else is gonna call me on my bullshit?" I asked, chuckling, and she smiled. I put it in my eyes, staring at her with all the emotions inside of me, the ones that I'd safely had locked away for years now, and needed to start bringing out now I knew she felt the same way.

Beth let out another groan as I lay us down on the ground gently, it also appeared she'd dislocated her shoulder, and I wouldn't mind betting there were a lot more injuries I wouldn't be able to find without undressing her, maybe not even then.

Lying beside her, I took her into my arms as best I could, touching her, stroking along her back and shoulders. I pressed my forehead to hers, and our lips hovered together.

"Dad's on his way," I told her, and she nodded. She had to stay conscious, that much I knew, so I talked to her. I told her about some of the places I wanted to take her, some of the things I wanted to do, we mentally started writing a to-do list of places to visit, and she took long shallow breaths, listening with a half-smile.

I heard Dad's truck roar down the driveway, the sound of an ambulance in the distance. I pushed my head to hers, sighing as I looked her in the eyes.

"Everyone I love leaves me," I said quietly, honestly.

"Not everyone," she whispered back. She held my face with one hand, looking at me and I wondered just why she was so intent on loving me. What did I do to deserve her? In that moment I didn't care, all that mattered was that she did, and she was mine, and be damned if I was going to let her go again.

"Promise?" I asked, looking at her seriously.

"I promise," she whispered. I smiled and kissed her quickly, and then Dad was beside us, all worry and panic wrapped up in a bow of desperation.

"Bethie!" He muttered. "What the hell happened?!" He snapped at me, glaring.

"It wasn't Dean's fault," Beth said, holding on to me.

"You should have been watching her," he said, ignoring her. I sighed, and brushed the hair out of her eyes. Some things were never going to change, I was never going to be good enough for him, but maybe – just maybe – with Beth by my side, that wouldn't matter so much.

I stared down at her, ignoring Dad's comments, and watched her breathing even out. She was starting to slip out of consciousness. I shook her, and she came awake. The ambulance had arrived, and the paramedics were crossing over to us. I wouldn't leave her side, not now, not ever again.

* * *

_**Kittanning Hospital  
**__**Later that night**_

**Beth's POV**

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes were hazel orbs staring back at me. Dean had a chair pulled up to the bed and was sitting as close as he could get without climbing in with me. When he saw me open my eyes he let out a visible sigh of relief, and leaned forward to kiss me.

It was a tender, tantalising kiss that left me breathless. He pulled away reluctantly as people walked past the open door.

"Hey," he said, smiling and reaching out to brush a few locks of hair back off my forehead.

"Hey," I responded in our usual, casual, _god it's so good to see you _manner.

"How are you feeling?" Dean asked, his eyes watching me with concern. I looked down at my body under the sheet and blanket, and shifted my legs, testing them out.

A searing pain ran up my side and I winced, grumbling under my breath. "Holy Hell..." I said sucking in a deep breath.

"Yeah, I would be a little gentler with yourself, you did just take a swan dive out a second storey window," Dean chuckled. I rolled my eyes and shrugged.

"Ow!" I muttered, the action of shrugging bringing my attention back to the dislocated shoulder I had been sporting. Dean snorted and leaned forward to kiss me again.

He held my face with his hands, lingering along my lips before sliding his tongue in, tilting my head up to take it deeper. I moaned into the kiss, my hands sliding up his chest and resting over his heart, which was racing.

Someone cleared their throat in the doorway and we pulled apart quickly, Dean falling back into his seat and looking slightly alarmed at the intruder. When it wasn't John we both sighed and exchanged a relieved look.

"Sorry to interrupt," the nurse said with a smile.

"No, no, you're okay. I was just making sure she was okay," Dean said with a cocky grin.

The nurse chuckled and moved toward the bed, checking one of the machines I was hooked up to what seemed to be monitoring my blood pressure. "Well I'm sure your technique alone will do plenty to speed up the healing," she kidded, taking a light and shining it in my eyes.

Dean laughed and I couldn't help but smile.

She soon left us and Dean leaned forward again, watching me. "You have to stay here tonight, something about monitoring you. They had to put you under to take out that piece of wood," he told me. I nodded, eyes wide and I grabbed his hand, biting my lip.

"Don't leave me," I said, tears welling in my eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere," he promised, and the look on his face clearly told me he meant it.

There was movement at the door and John walked in carrying a bag of goodies.

"Hey Bethie, how you feeling?" He asked, handing me the bag. Dean took it and started going through the contents – a book to read, magazines, twinkies. He took a twinkie and opened it, shoving the whole thing in his mouth and groaning with delight.

"Hey, those are my twinkies!" I protested, grabbing the bag. He grabbed it back off me and shook his head.

"You don't need them, they'll only make you fat," he teased and I stared.

"You can talk," I said with a raised eyebrow, lowering my gaze to his stomach. Dean swallowed the remainder of the twinkie in his mouth and looked uncomfortable. He emptied the few things that weren't food on to the bed and then crossed the room, tossing the junk food in the bin.

"Well that's a little excessive," I said with a laugh, John chuckled, shaking his head.

Dean reached down to run his hands along his perfectly toned stomach and I licked my lips, he definitely had nothing to worry about in that area. "Yeah well, can't hurt," he said with a determined nod.

I shook my head, looking over at John. "What about the poltergeist?" I asked.

"Dean and I will take care of that in the morning," he said gently. I bit my lip and nodded. There was no getting around it, I was definitely out of the hunt, but there was nothing worse than sitting around all safe and sound while those you loved threw themselves at danger.

"Come on Dean, let's go so Beth can get some rest," John said and I glanced sharply at Dean, willing back the panic attack that was wanting to take hold.

Dean shook his head, looking at John.

"Dean..." John growled, his tone telling us both that Dean was close to stepping over that boundary.

Again Dean shook his head and looked at his father. "No, I'm staying," he said decisively.

John's eyes narrowed and he looked between Dean and I. Dean sat back in the chair he was in and stared at his father defiantly. I bit my lip, wondering just how this was going to go down.

Unexpectedly John sighed and scrubbed a weary hand across his face. "All right, have it your way. I want you ready to go first thing in the morning though," he said, watching as Dean nodded.

John leaned down and kissed me on the cheek, ruffling my hair affectionately as he smiled. "Get some rest Bethie, I'm glad you're okay, you gave me quite the scare today," he said. I smiled back at him and nodded.

"Good night Dad," I said, watching as he left the hospital room, casting a final look back at the pair of us.

"He looks lonely," I said to Dean, watching as John left my sight.

"Yeah, well, he's brought it on himself," Dean said unsympathetically.

"Show a little compassion Dean," I said softly, reaching out a hand to touch his face.

Dean sighed, and looked at me. "Like he shows me?" He asked. I sighed back at him, he had me there, the pair of them were ridiculously incapable of sharing their emotions in general.

"Come on," Dean said, changing the subject. "You need some rest." He started to settle in to the chair next to me and I stared at him.

"What?" He asked, looking at me confused.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head at him, waiting for something to hurt. Nothing. Awesome – I had my way to chastise him – eye rolls.

"You can't sleep in the chair, you know you'll be stiff and sore in the morning and then Dad is going to have a good reason to make you stay in the motel next time." I said.

"Sugarpie, there better not be a next time, I'm running out of lives as it is," he joked, and I laughed.

"I think we used one of my lives today," I said, and he shook his head, leaning in to place a lingering kiss across my lips.

"Yeah, but I did too because you scared me to death," he said softly, his eyes troubled and bleeding away to the vulnerability I'd seen earlier. Reaching up a hand to his cheek, I kissed him lightly, smiling.

"You know we'll both fit in this bed, it's not as if you don't wrap yourself around me all night given the chance," I said quietly, and I knew I had him. This is how we'd slept for the last four days – four exciting, excruciating days where we'd started exploring our feelings for each other, hiding them in the light of day because of John.

I didn't wait for an answer. Gingerly I tested out where everything hurt. Fortunately for me, the shoulder that had dislocated was the same side as where I'd been impaled. I moved to lie on the opposite side, wincing a little when I felt the stabbing twinge of broken ribs in addition to the rest of my injuries.

When I'd settled, Dean slipped off his shoes and climbed up on the bed with me, pressing in behind me. He carefully slid his arm up under my armpit, high enough that he wasn't going to brush accidentally against where I'd just been operated on. He hesitated, pulling away and snapping the side rail into place so he could lean against it if needed, then slid behind me again. Satisfied that he wasn't going to fall out of bed, I smiled and held on to his arm, stroking it gently with my hand.

Dean leaned up to kiss me behind my ear, his soft breath tickling me inadvertently. "Good night babe," he said, slipping his hand up and across my chest, pulling me in close to him.

"Good night," I said wearily.

* * *

_**Hospital  
**__**Next Morning**_

**Dean's POV**

Beth was whimpering in her sleep when I woke up, a fine sheen of sweat beaded across her forehead and she was shaking. I pulled back and she rolled in to me slightly, a sigh escaping her mouth. I glanced at my watch, 6am, and sighed. I could really use a shower after yesterday.

I felt around behind me to the release for the side rail that I'd pulled up – these things really helped out when you were trying to cram two people into a little hospital bed, at least I hadn't been in any danger of falling out last night.

Sticking my head out the door I assessed my situation: it was quiet and very few people around at this hour. With a grin I grabbed a towel out of the cupboard in the room, creeping around quietly so as not to wake up Beth.

Nurse Nosy from last night was at the desk, writing in a file, I glanced back at Beth – she was still looking in a lot of pain. Clearing my throat I walked up to Nosy and smiled my award-winning heart breaking smile at her.

"Hey," I said, nodding at her.

She looked up at me and licked her lips with a smile. "Hi, can I help you?" She asked, her eyes seeming to accentuate the _helping me _part.

"Uh, yeah, my uh sister... I mean Beth..." I started, reminding myself that it probably wasn't good to call Beth my sister after she'd caught us making out the night before. "Look she seems to be in a bit of pain, is there something you can give her?" I asked.

She glanced down the hall to the hospital room and frowned. "Well she is overdue for a pain pill, but we don't usually offer unless the patient is actually asking for it."

"Oh believe me, she needs it, and she'll never ask – she's a tough cookie," I said with a laugh. "Can you just go in and maybe offer? Don't tell her it was my idea, she'll cane my hide."

Nosy laughed and nodded. "Your...sister?" She asked, frowning at me.

"Stepsister," I said and she raised an eyebrow in my direction, her eyes trailed down along my body. _Once upon a time I might have hit that_, I reflected with a tiny internal smile: things had definitely changed on that front. I wasn't even remotely interested.

"Stepsister... right," she commented curiously. "And how did you sleep last night?" She looked at me as if to say she was well aware where I'd spent the night and in what position.

"Oh yeah, good, you know... hospitals... what you gonna do?" I asked.

She smiled and tilted her head to the side. "Next time, we'd be happy to find you a bed of your own if you insist on staying. Provided we have them available." She said, "There's always the on-call room," she added with a suggestive look. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow – I'd seen enough of _ER _to know what went on in those on-call rooms.

I threw her a cheeky grin and chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind." I said, with a nod. "But, I really need to be able to keep an eye on my...Beth," I added.

"Your stepsister, right. Well she's lucky to have a brother who cares so much about her," she said with an amused look.

"Yeah well, you know... just don't tell my Dad!" I quipped with a short laugh and started walking down the hall toward the showers. I cringed internally; man we were going to have to be more careful!

Half an hour later I was refreshed and clean, feeling one hundred percent better than I had been when I woke up.

Beth was sitting up in bed when I got back to the room, laughing and smiling with Nurse Nosy. Something the woman said to Beth suddenly had the smile drop from her face and she looked down biting her lip. I frowned, wondering what had just happened and knocked on the door to let them know I was there.

"Hey," I said, smiling over at Beth. She returned the smile with one of her own, instantly looking happier – I felt my ego bolster a little, always happy to see outward displays of her affection.

"Hey!" Beth said, waving me in. I crossed to the bed and took her hand in mine giving it a little squeeze.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"We gave her something for the pain half an hour ago, she should be starting to feel the benefits by now," Nurse Nosy offered with a wink. I grinned and looked questioningly at Beth who was nodding profusely.

"Yep, all good," she said with a giggle. I chuckled and shook my head at her, she was too damn cute.

I pulled up the chair and sat by the side of the bed again, steeling myself for the conversation to come. Nurse Nosy hovered and made no secret of the fact that she was listening in.

"What's wrong?" Beth asked, frowning when she saw my frustrated expression directed at the nurse.

"Nothing" I said dismissively, sitting back in the chair. "Hey look, I gotta go join Dad soon to take care of that... business from yesterday," I said, casting another glance at the nurse who was making herself look busy at one of the machines Beth had just been disconnected from.

"I want to come with you," Beth said, and I sighed. I knew she had been going to say that.

"You can't Beth," I replied, looking sternly at her.

"I don't have to do anything, I can just be there as … support," she said, throwing a glance at the nurse. "You know, I can do last minute research if needed," she added emphatically.

"You can do that from here, you have a phone and the computer," I said pointedly, raising an eyebrow. She was starting to look agitated, fidgeting with her rosary which was dangling in her hands.

"Hey, uh, nurse?" I said, drawing a curious look from Nosy. "About that on-call room?"

"Yes?" She asked innocently, but her eyes were watching me with intrigue.

"Maybe you could show me where it is? When I'm done here?" I asked, throwing a bit of a suggestive look her way. She grinned, raising an eyebrow at Beth who was looking at me confused.

"Sure," she said with a salacious look. "I finish my shift in twenty minutes then I'm all yours. I'll wait for you at the nurse's station."

I nodded and waited for her to leave before letting out a sigh of relief.

"On-call room?" Beth asked, eyes narrowed.

"Just tossing her a bone to make her think she'd one-upped you," I said with a grin, waving my hand in the general direction of the room. "She wasn't going to leave us alone otherwise." Beth looked unhappily out toward the nurse's station.

I scooted forward, brushing my hand along her cheek and drawing her gaze back to me, staring into her deep brown eyes. "Now what's going on with you?" I asked.

Beth sighed and bit her lip, tears starting to pool in her eyes. "Don't go," she said. I tilted my head questioningly at her. "I don't want you to go today, just stay here, with me, and just... just forget about the poltergeist."

"Beth, you know I can't," I said, frowning at her flustered state.

"I know, I know!" She said, nodding anxiously. She took a moment and then looked up to meet my eyes. "I don't want you to get hurt... or worse."

"I know, but this is what we do Beth," I said stubbornly.

"Dad's never going to approve of us," she said suddenly, completely changing the subject. I did a double-take at how scattered her mind was.

"You don't know that," I said quietly. Frankly at the end of the day, he wasn't going to get a choice if push came to shove. I was hoping to avoid that, of course, but I'd made up my mind – I wasn't giving in this time.

"Dean, I don't want to sit around while you run off into uncertain danger, I can't! I need to come with you, or … maybe we don't go at all. Can we not go at all? Maybe we can just leave, run away. Yeah. Run away, come with me, we'll go someplace safe." She was rambling; I stared at her, not knowing where to even start with this unravelling.

"Beth, hey, come on. You're not thinking straight," I said to her, getting up and sitting on the bed next to her. She flashed a frustrated look at me and shook her head.

"Or maybe, for the first time in my life I'm actually seeing clearly. _I love you Dean. _I love you! I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, not waiting for some creature to get the better of us, watching you die, or worse, not even being there and get the message later!" She was clasping desperately at my hands, while I pondered her statement.

"Beth this is what we do, we help people, it's the only thing we're good at!" I said, trying to reason with her.

"I don't care! I don't care. Please Dean... just... run away with me," she begged, eyes pleading with me to relent.

"Geez, how much stuff did they give you?" I asked worriedly.

"I don't know, two pills? Three? What does it matter?" She asked quickly, running a hand through her hair revealing a purple bruise along her hairline.

"Because it's not like you," I commented with a frown.

"Maybe, maybe not. Maybe I'm not who you think I am," she said.

"You're exactly who I think you are, Beth, I've been with you every day for the last six years, _I know you. _This isn't you," I said, reaching out to caress her cheek.

She let out a sob, covering her mouth with a hand. "I'm scared," she said, and now we were getting to the crux of it. "I'm scared, I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to, Beth, I'm not going anywhere," I said, leaning in to her forehead, kissing her nose. "Shouldn't this be me saying this, you're the one who nearly died yesterday."

"I know!" She said, and those big brown orbs suddenly flooded with tears. It was like a spillway had been released. Tormented sobs shook her shoulders and she buried her face in her hands.

"Oh boy," I said, reaching out to caress her head, not sure where I could touch her, she had a lot of injuries, some I wasn't even aware of yet.

I heard Dad's voice out in the corridor, talking to Nurse Nosy, and cursed quietly under my breath.

"Come on, Beth, Beth. Come on, Dad's here, you need to pull it together," I said. This only made her cry harder as she threw herself back on the pillow, turning away from me. She groaned from whatever injury she'd hurt from that action and I grimaced. She was a mess.

Dad came in and took one look at her sobbing on the bed and glared at me. I sighed.

"What's wrong Beth?" He asked and she shook her head. Getting no answer from her, he looked at me. "Dean?"

I shrugged and waved my hand out at the nurse's station. "I think they might have gone a little overkill on the pain killers, having a little emotional meltdown here," I said, glancing back at Beth.

"Shut up Dean!" Beth snapped, sniffing and turning back to face Dad and me.

Dad's face softened as he looked at her, coming around to the other side of the bed. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. I noticed he was just as careful about where he could touch her.

"We'll be back later to get you, the nurse says you can come with us today," Dad said to her and I breathed a quiet sigh of relief, I really didn't relish the idea of another night at this hospital, especially with Nurse Nosy on the prowl.

"Just take me with you now," she said, trying to sit up and grimacing as she pulled at the stitches in her side.

"No," Dad said firmly, putting his hand on the shoulder she hadn't dislocated and stopping her from moving any further. "It's not safe Beth, and I don't know how long this'll take. We'll get you when we're done."

He looked at me, and nodded. "Come on Dean," he said, standing up straight and walking toward the door.

"Wait! You're just going to leave me here?" Beth asked incredulously, tears glittering in her eyes.

Dad sighed and looked at her. "Get some rest Bethie, we'll see you soon." I trailed after him, feeling torn. The look on her face was gut wrenching as I glanced back at her, sitting alone in the bed, clutching at her rosary like a security blanket.

"Dean!" Dad's voice summoned me, he was already half way down the hall.

"Yeah, be there in a minute, just forgot my..." I trailed off, making for my bag in the corner of the room and grabbing it. When he started walking again I crossed to Beth, taking her face in both hands as I dropped the bag. I kissed her firmly, lifting her chin up so that I could get the best angle, sucking softly at her bottom lip before circling my tongue around hers. Finally I pulled away with a few small kisses to her pouting lips.

"I will call you as soon as we're done, okay? Don't worry, we'll be fine. I'll see you soon," I promised. "I'm coming back for you Beth, I promise." She nodded, biting her lip and I felt reassured that she wasn't going to start crying again.

"For god's sake, only one of those pills next time, huh?" I said, grinning at her. It got a smile out of her, that's what I wanted. I kissed her once more and then picked up my bag, rushing for the door.

"As soon as you're done!" She reminded me, and I nodded with a smile, turning to leave and catch up to Dad. It tore at me to leave her here, but this is what we did. Helping people, at the cost of our own needs and desires. This was the family business.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
Kittanning, Pennsylvania**_

_**(Two Weeks Later)**_

**Beth's POV**

The echoes of my phone ringing pulled me out of sleep; I rolled over, bumping into Dean as I tried to get my bearings.

He groaned. "You gonna answer that?" He asked, and pulled a pillow over his head.

I gingerly rolled in the other direction toward my bedside table and answered the incessant ringing. Whoever it was, they were determined to wait for my answer.

"Hello?" I asked sleepily, rolling back on to my pillow, a hand clasped over my eyes.

"_Hey sweetie, I'm really sorry to wake you up, but it's a matter of life and death!"_ Cole's voice sounded over the line. I groaned. It was always a matter of life and death when it came to Cole. I didn't answer right away so she kept talking as the door opened and John walked in looking like he'd seen better days.

He'd been hitting the bottle pretty hard the last few weeks since my near-death learning-to-fly incident. I was secretly worried about him, but it's not like he didn't have these moments, he was always having a few drinks, but this was more. I realised suddenly, with Cole on the other line, that she might suddenly be the reason for the drinking – they must be fighting, or something.

"_John just hung up on me and I'm gonna come down and kill the bastard. Where are you at?" _She asked, and suggested I play things out like a random survey call, which actually wasn't a bad idea all considered, except who the hell called after midnight wanting to survey you? Well, hopefully John was drunk enough not to pick up on that.

"Oh... Oh yeah I can answer a few questions for you. Why not?" I said.

Dean moaned at my answer. "Because it's the middle of the freaking night, that's why not!" He said, from under his pillow. John sank on to the loveseat in the corner with a sigh, reaching for another glass of whiskey off the table next to it.

"That better not be someone we know," John said, looking at me with a pointed stare to indicate I should know exactly who he was talking about. "Because if it's someone we know, they should... know better... hang up." I shook my head at him, trying to play it cool.

"_That's my girl," _Cole said. "_Where are you?" _

"Oh, where do we live?" I repeated like I was having a hard time hearing. "Well, the _Best Western _in Kittanning." I answered, John raised an eyebrow in my direction while I shrugged at him, pretending like I had no idea what was going on.

"_And is he in the room?" _Cole asked. I mentally rolled my eyes. Surely these two could be having this discussion together? Why did I get to be go-between just because I happened to walk in on them making out once?

"Uhm, my brother, father and I are staying here for now," I said, and looked down at Dean when he groaned a complaint again. John stood up and grumbled something about the rudeness of people calling so late, and I threw him a sympathetic look.

"_Awesome hon, I'll be there in 24 hours, okay? So do me a favour and don't tell him I'm coming. I don't want to give a chance to run..." _I did roll my eyes at that.

"Would you freaking hang up already?" Dean asked, trying to reach for the phone which I moved away from him. "Tell them to nick off, it's night time in America!"

"..._ Oh and one last thing: do you guys have a shovel?" _Cole asked._ Was she kidding? _Of course she was kidding, but I seriously didn't understand her need to kill John constantly, sometimes I wished she'd get her homicidal urges under control, other times they kind of came in handy when you needed someone to start a fight. Or end one. Either way I was too tired and sore to play this game, I wanted to lie back down next to Dean and go to sleep.

"Damn, what is it not midnight in India? No we don't have any... complaints!" I snapped and then to John's chuckles, I hung up my phone, sighing.

"Just rude I tell you," he muttered, half staggering in to the bathroom, I watched him curiously – _just how drunk was he? _

I put the phone back on the bedside table and rolled over carefully to put my arm around Dean, kissing the back of his neck.

"Mmmm, well that's better than a phone call," he muttered, turning around to put his arm around me and kiss me softly.

"Mmmhmmm," I agreed, smiling. I was so glad that the motel didn't have a full sized couch, I think Dean might have even scouted out some of the motels for that reason alone because it would have sucked, big time, to have not had an excuse for him to sleep in with me the last few weeks.

The toilet flushed and we pulled apart, turning to face away from each other. John wandered out, turning off the light and then face planted the bed with a grunt. Dean looked up from his position in the bed, assessing his father.

"Did he just pass out?" Dean whispered and I nodded.

"Sure looks like it," I said, raising an eyebrow. "Dad?" Nothing.

Dean groaned and got out of bed, moving to reposition John so he was at least in the bed properly. I watched with a tiny smile as he pulled John's shoes off, and then put the blanket over the top of him.

When he was satisfied that John was out, he climbed back into bed with a cheeky grin. "Thought he'd never go to sleep," he muttered, reaching for me in the dark and kissing me. I moaned and leaned in to the kiss, running my hand up under his t-shirt to pull him closer.

"Mmmmm..." I moaned softly when Dean's hand brushed along my breast. He was taking great care not to touch the wound at my side. It was healing nicely but it still hurt like hell. As such, we'd been doing a lot of kissing when John was either out or asleep, and precious little else.

It had been unavoidable because frankly for the first week I hurt all over and the thought of anything more strenuous was just a nightmare. We were still exploring our relationship, learning what each other liked, and the kissing was the best part, I'd never get tired of the kissing.

I wasn't one hundred percent sure Dean felt the same way, but he was incredibly patient, and kept reassuring me that slow was fine, that we had years to make up for, but now that I was starting to feel even slightly better, I was starting to get more daring. If only my body would catch up with where my mind, and other body parts wanted to be.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
**__**Kittanning, Pennsylvania  
**__**Next Evening**_

**Dean's POV**

There was a knock at the door and I glanced over, my attention now split between the task at hand, and who could be visiting at this hour. Beth and I were lounging on the bed watching a movie, but at the moment we were more interested in the goings on next door. Beth was chuckling to herself as she gingerly crawled off the bed, and walked over to the door, checking the peephole to see who it was.

She opened the door, swinging it back to reveal the blonde haired hot head in front of us. "Look who's here," she said smirking.

"Shhh!" I said, holding my hand up and looking at my watch. The obvious sounds of a couple in the throws of their own passions continued from next door, insistent banging on the wall distracting enough, and only added to by the moaning. Cole looked amused, stepping into the room so Beth could close the door, and with a loud cry the banging stopped, the room next door falling silent. I looked up and chuckled.

"Five minutes and thirty-four seconds!" I declared, shaking my head and laughing. "A new record!" This love-making session had started three hours ago, and we'd timed at least four sessions so far. Even to us it was starting to get tedious.

"Good lord, talk about lack of stamina!" Beth said with a sad shake of her head. I swallowed hard, thinking about all my previous experience in the bedroom and suddenly hit with performance anxiety. _Seriously? _I thought to myself, sensing the worry cross my face._ Since when have I ever gotten any complaints? _Never, but that didn't stop me worrying now. If there was anyone I was going to want to impress, it was Beth.

"Gee, no pressure or anything," I said, laughing nervously.

Beth crawled back on to the bed and leaned up to me with a kiss. "Baby, your kissing sessions last at least five times longer than that. I don't think you have anything to worry about," she said, kissing me again. I settled back against the headboard where we had all our pillows piled up and around us and she curled up under my arm while I pulled her in close.

"Like he said, no pressure or anything," Cole said with a grin. "Kissing is a lot different to going the distance in the heat of the moment."

I gazed at her curiously. "What would you know about it?" I asked, looking at her, an amused expression on my face.

"Darlin' wouldn't you like to know?" Cole retorted, crossing her arms in front of her. I licked my lips, glancing over at Beth, who was staring at Cole curiously, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Yeah, uh, not really..." I said, looking back at Cole. I wrinkled my nose up at the idea of having any knowledge on Cole's sex life.

"So whatcha doin' here short stack?" I asked, using the nickname I'd come up with her a while back. She hated it, I knew it, she knew that I knew it, and that's why I used it.

Cole shrugged. "Needed a place to crash so I called Beth to see where you all were. Decided I'd come wreck your lives too," she said with a grin.

I looked at Beth, she had failed to mention Cole might be dropping in for a visit, she didn't meet my gaze. Whatever, not like I cared either way.

"Yeah, about that," I said. "What the hell happened back there? Dad won't tell us a thing," I looked at her curiously, the whole blow-up at Bobby's just didn't make any sense to me, and I knew there had to be more to it than a simple disagreement about Cole wanting a little more independence, which seemed to be what Dad had been getting at in his elusive explanation.

"I'm not sure why the hell Dad and John were fighting," Cole said, dropping her bag at the foot of the bed. "I just walked in on it. But Dad and I were fighting because I'd broken the table and then started the bar brawl. Apparently, I'm a wild child," she said. I looked at her, playing the explanation over in my head. It made no more sense than Dad's story, I was starting to feel like someone was trying to pull the wool over our eyes.

"I don't feel like getting into this right now, can we just chill for a bit?" Cole asked. I shrugged and nodded, didn't matter to me.

"So what's up?" She asked, looking around the room, seeming a little uncomfortable. Beth waved at the TV.

"The scariest movie ever," she said with a chuckle. Cole groaned when she saw _Leprechaun _come back from a commercial, she didn't like the movie, but it didn't stop her from crawling on the bed with us. She sat up next to me, so that I was sandwiched between the pair of them, stealing a pillow and making herself comfortable, pulling the covers up around her neck like a six-year-old kid.

Jennifer Aniston screamed on the screen and Cole jumped, burying her face in my shoulder. Beth was clinging to my arm tightly, staring with mixed fascination and horror at the screen. I chuckled and shifted, bringing my arms up around both their shoulders, bunch of scaredy cats.

"So where is John?" Cole asked a few minutes later, looking around at the motel room.

"Went to grab us something to eat," Beth answered, still staring at the TV. I took a long chug out of my beer, waiting for the pivotal scream moment that just had to be coming. We continued to watch the movie and then suddenly a crash sounded behind us again. Cole must have jumped about a foot in the air, screaming out loud before burying her face against me once more. Beth, not usually a screamer for horror movies, screamed at the same time. I spat my beer everywhere, not expecting that. What the hell was up with the girls and horror movies?

I looked down, frowning. I think Beth got the most of it because I'd been looking at her at the time of the scream. She swiped at her top, amber liquid dripping down from her neck and chin. "Nasty Dean. You totally spit beer _all over us_!" She complained, grabbing a towel from the floor next to the bed and mopping at herself.

"It's all right ladies, Dean is all about protecting the damsels in distress," I said with a cocky grin, ignoring the beer comment and looking at Cole who was still wrapped up around me. Beth sighed and then looked back at the wall where the moaning had resumed.

I glanced at my watch, mentally adding a good thirty seconds to cover the screaming fit the girls had been through and resumed timing. Four minutes later we were all looking a little disappointed. They'd barely made it past the commercials.

The movie continued playing, but I had ammo now and I was going to take it.

"Geez Cole, you are such a wuss," I commented, she glared up at me, rolling her eyes. "Who would ever think you could defend yourself against demons, witches and other supernatural creatures? You can't even handle wall bangers," I said with a smirk.

Cole reached a hand under my arm and pinched me, I yelped and glared at her. "Ow, dammit!" That was hardly fair, I had a legitimate point to make. She was looking a bit out of sorts however, which threw me, so I decided to let it slide, changing the subject.

"So while we're on the on the subject of supernatural creatures, anyone have a lead on how to kill this little son of a bitch?" I asked, pointing at the screen. It was a favourite pass time for Beth and me, we often sat and came up with ways to kill all the different creatures in horror movies, quite often we actually went so far to have Sam research it, and learned something. I seriously doubted I'd ever come across an actual leprechaun, so it wasn't really something I was that curious about, just looking for a topic of conversation.

The door opened and Dad came waltzing through carrying a few fast food bags, a case of beer and best of all, pie, stacked precariously atop everything else.

"I'm down with the idea of chopping off his lucky charms," Cole said, looking over at Dad.

I snorted, subconsciously looking down at my own crown jewels, the last time I'd seen Cole, she'd threatened to cut them off with a butter knife because I stole her pie. Beth started giggling and that made me smile, she hadn't really had cause to laugh much lately.

"What the heck is it with you and castrating men?" I asked, casting a cautious look at her.

"You don't want to know, trust me," she said soberly, looking back at the screen.

Dad was standing by the table where he'd dumped all the food and drink, staring back at us on the bed.

"Cole are you okay? What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Yeah I'm fine!" Cole snapped, which had me looking at her curiously. _What the hell was with the attitude? _

"I'm glad you're here, I need to talk to you," Dad said, moving toward the bed. "Privately," he added. I exchanged a look with Beth who shrugged at me before raising an eyebrow at Cole.

"No," Cole rebuked him. "I'm in the middle of this movie, it's almost over," she said. I nearly snorted, Dad wasn't going to cop that kind of attitude, not in his own motel room.

Just as I expected, his look turned stony, but Cole missed it as she stared back at the TV. Without warning he grabbed her by the arm, pulling her off the bed, I smirked because she had it coming. She should know better than to mouth off at Dad like that, daughter or not.

"Ow! Hey what the hell are you doing? Let me go!" Cole demanded, struggling against his iron grip.

I think he said something to her, but if he did, it was so low I barely made it out. Beth was watching them, chewing on her bottom lip as she debated getting involved. I put a hand on her thigh and shook my head. Cole was a big girl, she could handle herself. Seemed to me like she needed someone to make her pull her head in a little anyway, she'd been out of control with the emotions lately, more so than usual.

Dad dragged her out of the room and shut the door. I stared for a bit, curiosity eating at me a little bit. But the smell of food from the table got my attention, and then there was the pie. Suddenly Cole was on her own, pie won hands down.

I got up, cracking myself a fresh beer and putting the rest of the cold cans in the bar fridge. I rifled through the bags and found burgers, all the same. Beth looked up as I tossed one to her, and she caught it easily, starting to unwrap it.

Moving back to the bed, I settled down again, turning the volume lower and looking at her as she took a bite out of her burger.

"What the hell do you think that was all about?" I asked, nodding toward the door, indicating Dad and Cole. Beth shrugged, her attention still partially on the TV.

"I dunno," she answered, reaching out to take a sip of my beer.

"And what the hell is her problem lately? That girl always had attitude, but I think it's getting worse?" I added, shaking my head.

"Beats me," she said. I looked at her, suspicious, because Cole usually told Beth everything. Then again, they hadn't actually talked on the phone since before we got to Pennsylvania from what I could tell. It was as if Cole had dropped off the face of the planet.

"And another thing, where the hell has she been holed up all this time?" I asked, taking a bite of my burger.

"Your guess is as good as mine Dean, she's been incommunicado, I don't know what's going on with her," Beth said quietly. She yawned suddenly and I noticed the dark circles that had started to form under her eyes.

"Hey, you're not fully recuperated yet, you really should get some rest," I said. She nodded, her eyes looking full and heavy. I put my burger and beer down on the table next to the bed and gestured for her to lie down. She nodded and cuddled in close, wrapping an arm around my waist. I got comfortable, stroking along her forehead as she closed her eyes.

"Mmm, that's nice," she said softly with a smile on her face. I smiled, and continued to brush my fingers across her skin. She was asleep within minutes.

The movie was well and truly over by now, so I started to channel surf, looking for something interesting to watch. Dad and Cole had been gone over an hour, _what the hell were they talking about?_ With the look that had been on Dad's face when he left, I was quite sure I didn't want to know, I'd been on the receiving end of those kind of lectures before, and they were never good.

Cole came storming in through the motel room door and I reluctantly untangled Beth from my waist, tucking her arm back by her side. "Hey, so you sleeping in with Beth?" I asked her, expecting as much, she usually did.

"Hell no! I'm not spending another damn minute with that prick of a man!" Cole snapped. Beth stirred in her sleep and I frowned a warning at Cole to keep it down – seriously, did she have no consideration for anyone else?

"Whatever dude," I snapped at her, shaking my head. "You got your own room?" She nodded, grabbing her bag. "Well I'm sure that'll teach him," I said with a smirk.

"Shut up!" Cole snapped at me, she stopped long enough to look at Beth sleeping next to me. "Tell Beth I'll see her in the morning."

She started for the door and it occurred to me that Dad wasn't following after her arguing this whole situation down.

"Hey! Where is Dad anyway?" I asked.

"How the Hell should I know Dean?!" Cole said loudly, again. I cringed and Beth rolled over in her sleep, her arm sliding back around my waist. I rolled my eyes at Cole and put my arm around Beth, brushing at her hair.

"Yeah ok then," I said. "Well you know where this damsel saving hero will be if you need him," I offered, tossing her a smug grin. I knew it would rile her up even further but I couldn't help myself.

"I think I can take care of myself, thank you very much Dean!" Cole snapped, walking out of the room with her head held high.

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out," I muttered, started to laugh at her so as to get her worked up even more. What the hell was wrong with people lately? I swear I was the only normal one around here.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
**__**Several Hours Later**_

**Beth's POV**

I woke up to the sounds of an intense conversation, and what sounded like... _Patrick Swayze_? Dean was sitting beside me, eyes glued to the TV. It was 1am and I turned light sensitive eyes toward the screen and chuckled. "Dirty Dancing?" I asked Dean, my voice scratchy from sleep.

Dean looked a little embarrassed and grinned at me. "Well you know, it was on... you were asleep..." I chuckled and leaned up to kiss him.

"Hey it's Swayze..." I said with a grin. "Swayze always gets a pass." Dean looked chuffed at me, glancing back at the screen where Johnny and Baby were talking.

"_I've never known anyone like you, you look at the world and you think you can make it better, somebody's lost you find them, somebody's bleeding you..." _Johnny's voice echoed out from the TV.

"Sounds like you," Dean said, glancing down at me.

"You think so?" I asked, sitting up and tucking my head against his shoulder.

"Yep, and you're not scared of anything," he said, quoting Swayze five seconds after he said it on screen. I sighed, looking at him.

"I wish that were true," I said quietly. He looked down at me, worried eyes watching me.

The sultry tones of Solomon Burke singing _Cry To Me _came on the screen and Dean chuckled. "Oh now we're talking!" He said, looking at Johnny and Baby locked in an intimate dance just for two.

"I could totally do that," Dean said self-assuredly.

"Oh yeah?" I asked with a grin. His hazel eyes trailed along my body and he grinned, nodding at me. He slipped out of bed with a smug look, backing into the middle of the room and waving me toward him, his hips swaying to the beat of the song.

"Serious?" I asked and he nodded. I giggled and scooted over to join him. _I liked this side of Dean. _

John's bed was untouched and I smirked, somewhere along the line he'd happened to not come in tonight. _Big surprise there. _I wondered where Cole was, and then shook my head. I realised I didn't want to know, on the plus side I had the room alone with Dean!

Dean pulled me snuggly against him, swaying to the music and running his hands along my back and over my butt, grinding his hips against mine. I groaned and moved to the music, leaning in to him and mirroring his actions, my hands sliding up his chest.

A firm, confident hand stroked down my thigh, lifting it up and around his hip as Dean watched me, his eyes dark and dreamy. I swayed into him and felt the beginnings of a telltale arousal pressing against me. Dean groaned, leaning in to kiss me before slipping his hand down to my lower back again.

I felt myself being dipped, hanging suspended between the floor and Dean, and the extent of my injuries came crashing down. "Ow ow ow!" I cried out and Dean froze. "Ribs!" I gasped and he pulled me up quickly, lying me on the bed.

"Damn, sorry!" He said with a grimace, sitting next to me on the bed while I gasped from the pain of having stretched them too much. _Dammit! _

"Damn is right," I sighed, "that was fun," I said with a pout. Dean chuckled and leaned in to me.

"We can still have fun, but maybe leave the Swayze moment for another day," he said. I smiled and nodded, moving back slightly on the bed, pulling him down beside me.

"Hey," he said with a smile, stroking his hand gently along my arm.

"Hey," I replied with a grin, kissing his lips. He reached his other hand up to stroke along my cheek, then pulled me over to him, lips caressing mine. I loved this kind of kissing, where it was almost chaste, no tongue involved, just my lips trailing over his, that long suck on the bottom or top lip before moving quickly on to return the favour: a satisfying little smack as our lips pulled away from each other. Kissing was awesome, especially kissing Dean.

A moan echoed through the opposite wall to us and Dean raised an eyebrow. "Man, we have a winner," he said with a chuckle. "Both sides of us now." I laughed and nodded, kissing him again, I wasn't about to stop this little bit of fun.

The moaning intensified, building slowly as Dean leaned over me to deepen the kiss, bringing his tongue into the mix – clearly starting to get inspired by what was happening next door. I moaned softly and arched up to him as his hand trailed along my side, the movie on TV completely forgotten.

Dean kissed along my collarbone and then down to my breast, pulling my t-shirt up and drawing a nipple into his mouth, flicking his tongue along it. I gasped, and felt the searing pain of my ribs flare up again as I bucked beneath him. I groaned, and pulled back a little.

"Damn!" I said, he looked up, worry in his hazel eyes.

"You okay?" He asked as the moaning next door trailed off for a moment.

"Not really," I sighed and he looked at me sympathetically, moving back up to kiss my forehead.

"Come on," he said, nodding toward the pillows. "Another time." He moved to fluff the pillows up, and settled me back against them. Jumping up he rifled through my side drawer for a pain pill, putting it in my hand and crossing the room to get me a glass of water.

A passionate cry sounded from next door as I took the glass from Dean and smiled weakly. Dean chuckled and climbed in to bed next to me. "Well at least someone's getting lucky," he commented and I grimaced, biting my lip. He looked over at me and cursed. "I didn't mean anything by that," he said.

"Promise?" I asked, feeling insecure all of a sudden. Dean leaned in and kissed me with a serious look.

"I promise," he said. "Stop worrying!" He slid his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in next to him. I cuddled up and we turned back to the TV just as things started to heat up next door.

The girl's voice was starting to sound raw and hoarse as she moaned continuously, clearly in the throws of an encroaching orgasm.

"_John! Oh John... yes... oh my god yes...!" _I tensed, and Dean whistled as he listened in without any shame. That voice suddenly sounded familiar when I heard the name John. I cringed... _surely not? _The moaning continued, reaching an apex with an earth shattering cry as the girl crashed over the edge into what sounded like a completely mind-blowing orgasm.

Moments later we could hear the man, and I wanted to cover my ears because I had a fair idea who was in that room now, and seriously, one just didn't want to know this much about their own father. I grabbed the remote as John's groans echoed through the wall, intending to turn up the TV. Dean batted my hand away.

"Are you kidding? I wanna listen to this!" He said. I bit my lip and almost laughed. He wouldn't be saying that if he knew who was on the other side of that wall. Fortunately, it didn't take long, longer than the two on the other side of us had taken, sure, but obviously John's teasing of Cole had left him hot and ready to go. With a final cry the room fell silent next door and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well that was definitely some of the better motel sex we've heard in a while," Dean commented with a chuckle, kissing me. I shook my head with an amused look and tried not to think about it, turning back to the movie on the television.

I relaxed into him, my head on his shoulder, the pain pill starting to take effect, and I smiled. I couldn't believe I was lying here in Dean's arms, watching _Dirty Dancing _of all things, and he was actually enjoying it. What a strange night. I started to wonder if perhaps it was a dream.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
**__**Next Morning**_

**Dean's POV**

I felt like I'd barely slept, probably because I hadn't. What with staying up watching that movie, then getting all kinds of ideas from the hot sex going on next door, I'd been wide awake for hours. Beth was sleeping soundly beside me and I rolled over to watch her. She was usually the one doing the watching and she did it a lot; I knew because most of the time the intense staring woke me up with hairs standing on the back of my neck. Beth wasn't quite so acutely aware when I did it to her.

After a few minutes I decided it was time to take action. I was up so dammit the least I could be doing was kissing the girl while we had the room to ourselves. I nuzzled in to her neck, breathing in the faint smell of vanilla mixed with the woody scent of her rosary beads that rarely left her neck. I placed feathery kisses along the soft curve of her neck and shoulder, sliding my hand up and under her t-shirt to brush along the bare skin at her hip.

She moaned softly and opened one eye to peek at me. "Good morning," she mumbled with a smile.

"Good morning cherry-pie," I said into her neck, nipping at her slightly and eliciting a gasp from full lips. She lifted her head from the pillow to look around the room.

"Where's Dad?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing at the opposite wall for some reason.

"Who cares?" I said licking along her neck and up to her earlobe, nipping at it and then placing a few kisses on the soft skin behind it. "He's not here, and that's all that counts."

Beth groaned again and wrapped her arms around me, nodding and burying her face in beneath my chin, kissing my neck.

Suddenly the door to the motel opened and I tensed, glanced up to see Cole strolling casually through the door. "Hey guys look alive," she said cheerfully, closing the door behind her. I was a little slower than usual pulling away since it wasn't Dad, and she rolled her eyes in seeing this.

"You know we really should come up with some sort of code word or signal so that you aren't always interrupting us," I grumbled at her. The last time couple of times she'd interrupted us had been a disaster, especially when she landed on top of us in bed one morning trying to warn us Dad was on his way.

"Well a signal might save my eyesight, but it wouldn't save your asses when your dad decides to walk in," Cole said.

"Dude!" I exclaimed, laughing and sitting up in bed. "Speaking of doing the dirty…" Dad walked in and I chuckled at him. "…you should have been here last night. We got woken up around 1am to some chick having a mind blowing orgasm. She totally had to be faking it. I mean no one is that good!" I finished. I'd been giving it a lot of thought, actually.

"Really? No one?" Cole asked, giving me a questioning look. It hit me all of a sudden what I'd said.

"Well, present company excluded," I clarified, no need for Beth to get any bad ideas about me before I'd even had a chance to prove myself. I glanced at her and she was gazing curiously at me, I cleared my throat and shifted a little uncomfortably – man this wait was going to be the death of me, it was blowing things way out of proportion… I was starting to think that if we didn't sleep together soon she'd be expecting… to see God or something. The whole thing was just starting to make me nervous.

"You know the whole thing was so distracting I totally forgot to time it," I said, looking over at Beth again. Well that, and we'd kind of been busy with our own attentions. "How long do you think it was?" I asked.

She grinned at Cole, looking cocky. "Oh I don't know, maybe ten minutes?" I frowned, was she trying to tease me or something? I didn't quite get it if she was.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it was longer than that," I said confidently. "I'm gonna say fifteen to twenty."

Cole chuckled and glanced over at Dad.

"I don't know, if this orgasm sounds as good as you've made it out to be, I can imagine it must have taken forever to ride," she said with a grin. "I think we should go a little higher." Dad shook his head and groaned. Man he looked like he'd roughed it out on the land now I was getting a good look at him. Did he sleep in the car or something? Why on earth would he have done that? I dismissed the questions from my mind, he was a grown man, could make his own decisions. I shook my head at him as he went into the bathroom.

I turned my attention to breakfast, asking Beth what she thought we should get. We'd almost decided on iHop when Cole's phone rang. She looked at the display for a moment before flipping it open.

"Uncle Rufus, what's up?" She asked, and I raised an eyebrow, curious. I'd heard about Rufus, grumpy old bugger, worse than Bobby: but a good hunter.

She listened for a while and then snickered. "Geez Unc, you saying you're worried about poor lil me?" Cole teased. I shrugged at Beth who was looking just as confused.

"Me? A job? Since when do you palm them off?" Cole asked. This piqued my interest. I leaned forward, listening in. There was some discussion around not working on the Sabbath, not that I cared much about that, and then Cole had to ask what was in it for her. I rolled my eyes – typical.

"I'll do it," she finally agreed and she snapped her fingers at Beth. "Hey, I need a pen and paper," she whispered. Beth handed her the motel stationery from beside the bed along with a pen.

"Okay Rufus, give me the specs," she said. She scrawled down some details and then finished up the phone call.

Dad came out of the bathroom wearing a pair of jeans and drying off his hair. Cole stared at him, obviously assessing whether or not he'd be in on the job she'd just heard about. I cleared my throat, getting her attention and raising an eyebrow at her. She turned brown eyes to look at me.

"So I think I have a case if you're all interested?" She said.

"Well Beth is still recovering," Dad said.

"I'm also bored!" Beth contributed. I nodded, we were all bored. This was the longest we'd ever been without a job, and without sex on the cards, it was double the frustration – I was climbing the walls.

Dad looked at us and sighed, raising an eyebrow at Cole. "Where is it and what is involved?"

Cole smiled at him wickedly. "Lake drownings, in Wisconsin."

Beth groaned and Dad shook his head with a chuckle. "I _hate _Wisconsin!" Beth muttered.

**~ To Be Continued ~**

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

The song for this chapter is: _All In_by Lifehouse (not to be confused with their song All in All) It's freaking awesome and totally Beth & Dean early relationship!

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Well, I started _Dead in the Water _and then realised this part of the story still hadn't been told! I was going to just combine it all but I've already hit 12,500 words and 28 pages so yeah... it's going to be a 2-parter since there's a natural break here. Hoping to get Part 2 out in the next couple of days, maybe even overnight if I can stay awake long enough to finish it.

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Yes, the Swayze line is a deliberate copy from the Season 7 episode where Baby gets put in a corner. Where do you think Dean learned that Swayze always gets a pass? /wink/

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Hope you enjoyed this little episode – it doesn't have a lot of action, more backstory, but one that's been fun to tell.

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Cole's version of this story can be read over at _How To Save A Life _by EarthhAngel – if you like John I recommend you going and checking it out :)

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Thank you to everyone who has left reviews recently! I will be getting back to you at some point, I just want to keep writing while the muse is there :) Please continue to review, you know I love it!

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Check out the Facebook page, put in the address, then add /pages/Dean-Beth-Supernatural-Fanfic/6167414450129 46

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Please review :) Mahalo


	11. Promises (Dead in the Water - Part 2)

**A/N: **Yeah, so I lied, it's going to be three parts – haha! This story just has a lot to give today. I'm close to being done with Part 3 already because I was going to try combine it into one chapter, but it's starting to get bigger then Ben Hur, so – enjoy this read while I finish it off!

Follows on from _Kittanning – Dead In The Water Part1_ (Chapter 10)

It's also Beth's POV of EarthhAngel's chapter "Dead in the Water – Holy Water" over at _'How To Save A Life'_. I would recommend checking it out if you're not familiar with who Cole Singer (OFC) is and her relationship with John, because it's featured pretty prominently in this one.

This is Beth & Dean, the very beginning of their relationship while they're still hiding it from John. You'll definitely want to read _Bring Me To Life (1,2 & 3)_ over at my story _All Hell Breaks Loose _and Part 1 (previous chapter) first if you haven't already.

* * *

_We got our eyes wide open, feeling like we are almost there.  
Words unspoken disappearing in the air  
All I see is you and I  
You're the only lifeline that I need tonight  
I'm letting go._

_So this is what it feels like_  
_Being at the right place the right time_  
_I'm hanging on for dear life_  
_Hoping we can make this a long night_  
_This is why we came yeah_  
_I can feel it in my veins_  
_So this is what it feels like_  
_Right place the right time_

_Loud explosions only you and I can hear_  
_Doors fly open, you're the cure for all my fears_  
_All I see is you and I_  
_You're the only lifeline that I need tonight_  
_I'm letting go._

_Right here and now feels like forever  
Never touch the ground when we're together_

* * *

**PROMISES  
DEAD IN THE WATER (PART 2)  
**_**5 years ago**_

* * *

_**Lynnwood Inn Cafe  
**_

**Beth's POV**

We'd wasted no time in leaving for the hunt up in Wisconsin. I knew I was going to have to take a back seat for most of it, but it felt good just to be back on the road and doing something, anything!

Currently I was sitting in a booth with John, Cole and Dean, staring at newspapers and notes taken while John checked out the obituaries for Lake Manitoc. Sophie Carlton had been a young girl who had drowned in her back yard, pretty much. If you could call a lake a back yard.

I was finishing up my French toast, taking a sip of coffee when I looked over at Cole, she was doing her best to not be obvious about the fact that she wanted to put a knife through the waitress's sultry dark eyes.

"Can I get you anything else?" The waitress asked, looking mostly at John, which was pretty much the reason Cole was ready to kill her, considering her cleavage was ready to fall out of the tight shirt she was wearing. I had a moment to reflect on how I was so glad I didn't have to work a mundane job. Credit card fraud seemed so much easier and less degrading than having to squeeze into something two sizes too small just to coax a tip out of a customer.

"No, thank you, sweetheart," John said as he smiled at her. The waitress, Wendy, blushed and this made John grin even wider. I shook my head, you'd think he could tone it down seeing as Cole was there. Not that I was supposed to know they were _involved _but I did, and it annoyed me that I knew. I wanted to go back to the days where ignorance was bliss instead of feeling the anger I had right now sitting in my stomach.

"Just the check please," Cole snapped at the girl, and Wendy's smile dropped as she looked over at the testy blonde.

"Okay," she replied, rolling her eyes at Cole. I gaped, raising an eyebrow at Cole, the look had gone completely unnoticed by John and Dean because they were too busy checking out her ass as she walked away, I reached under the table and pinched Dean on the thigh, looking at him innocently as he frowned back at me.

"Ewww. Dad!" I said at the look John was giving Wendy. I was feeling cheeky. "She's got to be more than half your age," I said, smirking at Cole. "Plus, she's a blonde!"

John snorted and looked at me. "Yeah Bethie, Mary was a blonde," he replied, I noticed that he glossed over the age thing.

"Hey! I'm blonde!" Cole said, frowning at me.

Dean started to chuckle and looked over at Cole. "Yeah short stack, we are all aware of just how blonde you are," he said, which made me chuckle. Poor Cole, he was always throwing blonde jokes at her.

"Jerk!" She snapped at him.

"Bitch!" Dean replied without missing a beat. I snickered, stupid game we all played, somehow Dean always ended up the bitch, but not today.

"What's your point Cole? Not like you're sleeping with Dad. She on the other hand practically laid everything out on our table, and I personally don't want a piece of that," I said with a roll of my eyes. John and Dean looked around the cafe, ignoring the comment, and I winked at Cole. She better seriously appreciate the misleading statements I was tossing out for the sake of Dean and John here. She grinned at me, so I figured she had caught my intention.

"She's right you know. You might want to use protection if you decide to hit that," Cole said with a smirk in John's direction. "You could catch something, and at your age you'll have a harder time fighting off an infection," she added. Dean nearly choked on his drink as he fought down a rising laugh. John cocked an eyebrow at Cole and smiled, not raising to the bait.

"You know girls, we _are _ allowed to have fun once in a while," he said, looking at Wendy as she dropped off the check at our table before sauntering away. "That's fun," he added, pointing at the girl as she went.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. John sighed and moved a few papers around. "Okay, so let's recap," he said, pulling our attention back to the case at hand. "The latest victim was?"

"Sophie Carlton, of Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Eighteen years told. Walks into the lake, doesn't walk out," Dean answered, I looked at him curiously, he had been paying attention while running his hand along my thigh earlier.

"I'm telling you, nothing good happens in Wisconsin," I muttered, thinking about how the last time I'd been in Wisconsin had been when I'd been possessed and killed my father. I had been steadfastly trying to avoid the state ever since.

"Authorities dragged the lake, and found nothing. Sophie Carlton was the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found either," I added, coming back to the case.

"They had Sophie's funeral two days ago," Cold noted, looking at the obituary.

"A funeral?" Dean asked sceptically.

"Yeah it seemed kinda strange to me too, they buried an empty coffin," Cole said with a shrug.

"You'll find funerals, or memorials, are often held for those who are missing, or where the bodies are never recovered. They say it brings closure," John said.

I thought about this and shook my head, a different but similar topic coming to mind. I was like a dog with a bone whenever I saw John and Cole together, knowing he was breaking his own rules while we – as in Dean, Sam and I – all got punished because he was stubbornly holding on to old belief systems.

"Closure?" I scoffed, shaking my head. "What closure? People don't just disappear Dad, other people just stop looking for them. Or they never start," I finished, narrowing my eyes at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" John asked me in a quiet tone.

"Beth, let's not start on this again..." Dean said warningly. It had been a nice couple of weeks where we'd ignored the discussion that had been taking place before I got tossed out the window. But apparently my attitude had recovered faster than my body.

"No Dean, let your sister speak," John said, turning to stare at me piercingly. I swallowed under the intensity of his look, sitting back in my seat slightly.

"Well you know Sam's been gone for weeks now, and none of us have heard a thing from him. He doesn't take my calls, neither does Bobby, for all we know he could have got an infection and damn well died!" I said, getting it all out. The lack of response from Sam was worrying me, but on the other hand, it was Sam, he could be as stubborn as the rest of us.

Cole and Dean looked at each other, slightly worried.

"Sam reckons he's a big boy now, let him take care of himself," John said in response to me.

"Whatever!" I said with a frown. "You know, you could have shown him a little more support. Not everyone gets a full ride to Stanford!" I shook my head. John looked at me with an annoyed expression.

"Beth, we already went over this. Sam's made his decision. This family isn't good enough for him, he has no need for us – now we have a job to do, and by god you are going to get your head in the game and do it young lady!" I had been appropriately reprimanded, steel gaze and all. I crossed my arms and stared out the window, Dean bumped his leg against mine under the table and I turned my head to see him looking at me with a warning.

"I'm sure Dad is taking care of Sam, Beth," Cole said and sighed, she was probably right but that still didn't make it okay that we hadn't heard from him, or that we were just ploughing ahead as is nothing had happened.

"Don't go bringing that ass into things!" John snapped and I smirked, seemed I wasn't the only one going to be copping John's attitude today. Dean squeezed my thigh as I opened my mouth once again, and then shut it. The look Cole was giving John was good enough anyway, she did not look impressed that despite the fact she currently wasn't talking to her father, she didn't like John having a shot at him.

Wendy walked past the table again, her gaze drawn to John who was returning the look. I huffed, irritated that he was being that outright obvious in front of Cole, and then it reminded me that he was breaking the rules too – getting emotionally involved with someone close, someone who was family. I kicked Cole under the table and glared at the waitress, then John.

"Get your head in the game, _Dad..." _I said snarkily. Dean choked back another mouthful of coke, half of it spilling on the table as he tried not to spit it across at John and Cole.

John through me a glare and leaned forward. "Enough with the attitude Beth! I'm not gonna warn you again," he said in a low and serious voice that told me I was right on the edge of pushing him too far. I felt Dean's hand pinch above my knee sharply and then it ran softly along my thigh.

I took in a deep breath, closing my eyes and letting Dean's touch soothe me. It was a reminder that despite the fact that I was angry, and John was being a hypocritical ass, we had each other and finally we were getting something right. I sat back in my seat, releasing the breath that I had been holding as I thought about snapping at John again.

"Sorry Dad," I said, biting my lip. John nodded at me, acknowledging the apology but not saying anything further.

"Can we just get out of here? Please?" Dean said suddenly, looking over at John. "Before we all end up in freaking family counselling?!"

"Fine," John said with a weary nod. "Beth, Dean... you guys go speak with the police. Cole, you and I will go talk to the vic's family," he said, giving us our orders. John pulled a set of ID badges out of his jacket and passed them around. I grinned at mine, my name stated that I was Elizabeth Fisher. I glanced over at Dean's who was now Dean Ford and he grinned at me. We were now Han and Leia, totally cool. It wasn't lost on me the irony that one of the others had ended up with Hammill. Thank goodness Dean wasn't Luke, I had enough with the brother issues already.

Cole was staring at her ID badge, wide eyed and grimacing. "God my hair," she said with a shake of her head. "It was a mess."

Dean chuckled. "I know, why do you think you got Mayhew?" He asked. I turned to stare and realised that there was more than just luck to these ID badges, he'd helped make them up. But that had been months ago! All that had been needed was to switch Mayhew's over to Cole in the last few hours. I looked at Dean thoughtfully, either it was a fluke or he'd been thinking about us a lot longer than I suspected, long before Ewan and I were involved, long before Cassie. Dean tossed me a grin when John wasn't looking, winking at me.

I smiled and looked back at my ID again. Cole had been contemplating Dean's statement about Mayhew, but I think it was kind of lost on her, she wasn't exactly into the same films that we were. She looked up at Dean with a shrug as if to say that she didn't get the reference – I did: Mayhew was the last name of the actor who had played our favourite shaggy beast.

Dean laughed and let out a Wookiee call; that she did recognise. "Hey!" She exclaimed angrily. "Asshole! I am not Chewbacca! Jeez Dean! Freaking Chewie, really?!" She said glaring at him. Dean chuckled and nodded, clearly pleased with the reaction, it was even better than what he would have gotten from Sam, the obvious original intended victim of his humour.

* * *

_**Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin**_

**Dean's POV**

I pulled the Impala up in front of the police station and looked over at Beth riding shotgun.

"You ready for this?" I queried, looking at her. She was claiming to feel a lot better, but it had still only been a day since I'd strained those ribs again. Beth smiled over at me and nodded.

"Yes! God, I need to do something. I haven't felt so useless in the entire time I've known you," she said. "I'm not used to sitting still like this anymore," she grinned.

"Yeah, tell me about it," I nodded. Even when Dad had been laid up with a broken ankle three years back, he'd sent us out on hunts. I was kind of surprised that he and I hadn't been hunting during Beth's downtime. Just went to show how worried he'd been about her. Or maybe he was getting old, I chuckled ruefully. If he was, he sure wasn't about to admit to it.

Beth's phone rang and she answered it, looking at me and mouthing _Dad _. I waited to see what he wanted before we got inside. A brief conversation later and she was hanging up.

"Dad says Will Carlton saw something grab his sister, so we need to look into that too," she said and I nodded.

"All right then, let's do this," I said, getting out of the car and slamming the door shut.

When we got inside we were met by the Sheriff Devins himself, you have to love these small towns. We flashed him our badges and explained we were looking into the Carlton drowning and he nodded, showing us through the little swing door into the back of the station.

"Now, I'm sorry, but why does the Wildlife Service care about an accidental drowning?" Devins asked as he led us back to his office.

"Are you sure it's accidental?" Beth asked. "Will Carlton saw something grab his sister."

"Like what?" Devins asked, glancing back at her. He turned to face us, stepping back into his office and then turned, gesturing to the seats in front of his desk. "Here, sit, please." He walked behind his desk as we both took a chair and looked at him. "There are no indigenous carnivores in that lake," he said, looking over at us.

He stayed standing, looking down at us, his hands stretched out at his sides in confusion. "There's nothing even big enough to pull down a person, unless it was the Loch Ness Monster," he said with an amused expression.

"Yeah," I said with a chuckle. "Right."

"Will Carlton was traumatised, and sometimes the mind plays tricks. Still..." Devins sat down and leaned his elbows on his desk. "We dragged that entire lake. We even ran a sonar sweep, just to be sure, and there was _nothing _down there."

"That's weird, though, I mean that's the third missing body this year," I pointed out to him.

"I know," Devins said with a nod. "These are people from my town. These are people I care about."

"I know," I said, nodding, I got it. Small towns. There were some good things about them, and some bad things too.

"Anyway..." Devins said, throwing his hands in the air and sitting back. "All this... it won't be a problem much longer," he said with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" I asked with a frown.

"Well, the dam, of course," Devins said, looking at us like we should know better.

"Of course, the dam. It's, uh, it sprung a leak," I said, glancing at Beth and taking a guess.

"It's falling apart," Devin corrected me. "And the Feds won't give us a grant to repair it, so they've opened the spillway. In another six months, there won't be much of a lake. There won't be much of a town, either." He paused to assess us, raising an eyebrow. "But as Federal Wildlife, you already knew that."

"Exactly," I said enthusiastically, nodding.

There was a knock at the door and a young woman stuck her head around the door. She looked a bit like Beth, pretty, brunette, leggy.

"Sorry, am I interrupting?" She asked with a tentative smile. "I can come back later."

I stood up and Beth followed my example, tossing me a curious look.

"Agents, this is my daughter," Devins said. I held out my hand with a smile.

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Dean," I said, she took my hand and shook it.

"Andrea Barr. Hi," she said with a smile, then looked at Beth who was still gazing at me curiously like I'd just done something wrong. Since when was a little harmless smiling wrong? I cleared my through under the intense scrutiny Beth was giving me.

"This is Beth," I said and watched as they too shook hands.

"They're from the Wildlife Service. About the lake," Devins said, Andrea nodded.

"Oh," she said quietly, a flicker of something else crossing her face. A little boy walked into the room looking sullen and quiet.

"Oh, hey there. What's your name?" I asked, smiling down at him. The kid didn't answer, instead turning and walking back out into the main part of the station. Andrea turned with an apologetic smile and followed him.

"His name is Lucas," Devins said quietly. We watched as Andrea settled Lucas in at a desk, giving him a box of crayons to play with.

"Is he okay?" Beth asked with a concerned look on her face.

"My grandson's been through a lot. We all have," Devins answered cryptically, standing and going to the door of the office. He looked back at us, indicating that it was time for us to leave, we nodded and walked out toward the front of the office.

"Well, if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know." He said as John and Cole walked in the front of the station.

Beth waved them over and turned to face Devins. "Sheriff Devins, Andrea Barr," she said, turning to face us. "This is another team working with us. Agents Mayhew and Hammill." Devins shook Dad's hand and nodded, the two of them appeared to be sizing each other up.

"So we need to find that motel you were talking about Nicole," Beth said, and I couldn't help but notice that she used Cole's full name, we sometimes did that, but it was kind of rare, Cole didn't look real impressed about it. "Lakefront, I think you said it was?"

"That's right," Cole nodded, standing with a hand on her hip.

"It's just around the corner," Andrea offered, pointing in the direction we would need to take. "It's about two blocks South." I looked at Andrea and did an internal cringe. Beth was going to kill me, but it was the perfect opportunity to throw a distraction at Dad. That waitress in the cafe had given me a couple of ideas, I just hadn't run them past Beth. I probably should have, now that I was going to act on my plan.

"Two..." I said, faking a confused look. "Would you mind showing us?" I asked with a smile.

Andrea snickered, "You want me to walk you two blocks?"

"Not if it's any trouble," I said, but I gave her my sultry pout, it always won them over.

Andrea scrunched up her nose and smiled. "I'm headed that way anyway," she said with a smile.

"I'll be back to pick up Lucas at three," she told her father, and then she turned to Lucas and gave him a big hug to which the boy didn't respond, preferring to continue drawing. "We're going to the park, okay sweetie?" The boy didn't respond.

"Thanks again," Beth said to Devins with a smile as we prepared to leave. We all exited, and it must have looked like a freaking parade, the four of us following behind Andrea.

"So... cute kid," I said, walking up beside Andrea.

"Thanks," she said with a quick glance over at me.

We crossed the street and I lamely continued on in my act. "Kids are the best, huh?" I asked. I cringed a little at the pathetic attempt at a pick up, but at the same time, I didn't actually want it to work, it just had to seem like I was trying.

I hazarded a glance back at Beth, she was taking it fairly well given that I had given her no warning whatsoever, Cole's face on the other hand... she looked like she was about to use me for target practice, she gave me two thumbs down and I grimaced, mentally assessing her access to a knife, and my crown jewels.

We came to a stop, literally a two minute walk from the police station and Andrea gestured toward the motel in front of us.

"There it is. Like I said, two blocks," she commented with a smile at me.

"Thanks," Dad said.

Andrea turned and looked at me with a smile. "Must be hard with your sense of direction. Never being able to find your way to a decent pick up line." She grinned and then ran off before I had a chance to respond. "Enjoy your stay!"

Dad was looking at me and shaking his head. "Kids are the best? Son surely I've taught you better than that," he said with a raised eyebrow.

"You don't even like kids," Beth commented, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at me.

"I love kids!" I said, looking at her like she was mad.

Cole laughed. "Name three children that you even know," she challenged me. Oh that was easy. I opened my mouth and prepared to rattle off at least a dozen names. Yet nothing came to mind. I frowned, shrugging at Cole and coming up with nothing.

Cole snickered, walking past me. "I'm thinking!" I called out to her, but she just laughed and kept on walking.

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

**Beth's POV**

We booked into a room and I thought I detected a slight sigh of disappointment when Dean noticed the three-seater couch tucked into the corner. I tossed him an amused glance, it's not like we would have been able to sleep in the same bed anyway, Cole always bunked in with me when we stayed together, which would have meant Dean had to share with John if there wasn't a couch – he should be happy.

I threw my bag on to the couch as an excuse to stand near him, rifling through the contents. John and Cole were setting up her laptop on the other side of the room where there was a table by the window. I figured they were using the same excuse to be near each other as I was, this was going to be a long night.

"Walk us two blocks?" I asked quietly with a raised eyebrow, looking at him.

Dean glanced over at me with a chagrined look. "Well I had to think of something, Dad will eventually start wondering why I'm not hitting on anything with two legs you know," he said. I nodded, I had been wondering what we were going to do about that too. "It's suspicious enough that I just spent the last two weeks holed up in a motel room watching chick flicks with you instead of... well... you know..." he said, his voice trailing off as John walked past us to the bathroom.

The door closed and I brushed my hand along his cheek. "Yeah I know, I get it," I said softly. He sighed and pulled me in to him, holding me as he placed a kiss to my temples.

"This whole thing sucks ass," he whispered, and I nodded. But we needed more time – time to basically work up the courage to defy him in one of the worst ways we possibly could. The toilet flushed and we pulled apart, going back to our bags. When John exited, I grabbed my toiletries and headed for the bathroom, Dean followed suit.

I went about setting up the bathroom space how I liked it. A glass with my toothbrush and toothpaste, my brush, a little bag with other essentials like deodorant, razors, tweezers and make up: not that I wore that very often. I tucked my hair dryer in to one of the drawers with the bag to get them out of the way. Dean unceremoniously dumped his toothbrush on the sink and was done, it made me chuckle.

To buy us a little more alone time I decided to brush my teeth while Dean made small talk about the bathroom loud enough so John could hear while his hands ran along my sides as he used any excuse to touch me. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary for us, inspecting motel rooms and comparing them with others we'd stayed in was sometimes a good way to pass the boredom.

When John and Cole were sufficiently engrossed in whatever they were doing and I'd finished brushing my teeth Dean leaned into me, pushing me back against the tiled wall. He kissed me behind the bathroom door and I fought back a moan.

"You know I'd never do anything about it, right?" He asked quietly, I assumed he was talking about the attempted pick up lines and hitting on girls. I nodded. "Good," he said with a smile, claiming my lips again.

"Beth!" John's voice called out and I jumped. Dean pulled back quickly, and grabbed his own toothbrush, grumbling about the small amount of space in the bathroom loudly and how he had to share with two girls now, not just one.

I left the bathroom rolling my eyes at him. "Whine, whine, whine, how do you think I feel having to share with you guys all the time?" I asked, and John smirked, shaking his head at me.

"Beth, you're coming with me to get some food while Cole and Dean research," he said to me and I frowned. Since when was it a two-person job to get food? I sighed, I was in for another lecture obviously. It was always the way.

"Yes, sir," I said quietly.

Cole raised her eyebrow at me and then shook her head, going back to the computer. Dean came out of the bathroom looking at us curiously, he hadn't missed the two-person food run comment.

"Hey, see if they have pie?" He asked me and I chuckled, some things would never change.

John and I left shortly after, walking down the street toward the shops. He was silent and while this wasn't unusual for John, it also didn't bode well either, especially given the attitude I'd been giving him lately.

"So are you going to tell me what else is bothering you?" John said finally and I glanced over at him, tossing him a frown.

"What do you mean?" I asked, playing it dumb, because it could mean any number of things where John was concerned.

"Just wondering if there's something you need to tell me," John said quietly, stopping and looking at me.

I swallowed and looked up at him, this was my father, my champion, he'd dragged me from the darkest period of my life and helped me to live again. Was I really going to lie to him? He waited, looking at me.

"I have a secret," I confessed to him, carefully choosing my words. I actually had two.

John smirked and led me by the arm to a park bench, sitting us down. He turned worried eyes to me.

"I guessed as much Beth," he said. "Are you going to tell me what it is?"

I shook my head. "I really don't think you want me to tell you," I said honestly. He looked surprised at me.

"You're not in any trouble?" He asked. I shook my head.

John scrubbed a hand across his face. I was having a hard time believing we'd even gotten this far in the conversation, normally he'd just order me to tell him and that would be the end of it.

"You know I really do want you kids to be happy Beth," he said quietly, looking across the road with a sad expression. "I'm not deliberately going out of my way to make your lives miserable."

"I know," I said quietly.

He was watching a group of people walk past as he talked. "But the rules are there..."

"...for a reason," I finished for him. He looked at me. "Yeah, I know." I said.

I looked down at my hands, thinking things over. Should I tell him now? Or later? There seemed to be more than one conversation occurring here, on so many levels. I was tired of the constant double meanings.

"Dad, I'm twenty-one years old now, you know?" I said, taking his hands in mine. "Dean, he's twenty-three! We do our best for you, every day, we follow your rules the best we can. We'll do anything for you."

He nodded at me, taking in what I had said. "So you have to trust me when I say you're not ready to hear what I have to say yet. All right? You don't want this secret out in the open, because if it does come out, things will change."

John took all this in and after a moment he looked up and smiled at me, that dashing, heart-breaking smile that Cole said left her weak at the knees every time. I wasn't falling for it, Dean tried it on me every day.

"You've really grown up. I don't think I noticed until now," he said thoughtfully, looking at my face like it had suddenly changed.

"Okay," he conceded. "Keep your little secret, _for now._" His eyes told me that he'd be coming to get it out of me sooner than I wanted. I was itching to get back to Dean and talk to him, I didn't want to say a thing until we'd examined all the options. If push came to shove, and we weren't ready, I'd decided I was going to out his relationship with Cole, that ought to give him pause for thought.

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

**Dean's POV**

Cole was reading through research while I decided to raid Beth's bag and take back some of my clothes that she'd stolen. I chuckled to myself, shaking my head. The girl was like a squirrel, only instead of nuts she hoarded hoodies, and t-shirts, all of them mine.

"So there's the three victims this year..." Cole said, trailing off as she read.

I looked over at her, pausing in my rummaging. "And before that?"

"Yeah, six more spread out over the past thirty five years," she answered. "Those bodies were never recovered either. If there's something out there it's picking up its pace."

Tossing Beth's prayer candle on the bed, I reached in to the bag looking for a few more t-shirts. Man the girl had some stuff. My hand hit something hard and I withdrew it, looking curiously at the little journal I'd never seen before, this wasn't her hunting journal, that much was clear. "So what do we have, a lake monster on a binge?" I asked, glancing back at Cole and angling so she couldn't see what I was up to.

"This whole lake monster theory just bugs me," Cole said, staring at the screen. I frowned and dropped the journal back into the bag, turning to lean on the table, looking over Cole's shoulder. She paused to look at me and shifted away a little like I had cooties; I shook my head. _What the hell was up with that girl? _"Why?" I asked, looking back at the screen.

"Loch Ness, Lake Champlain. There are literally hundreds of eye witness accounts, but here nothing. Whatever is out there, no one is living to talk about it," she said with a frustrated sigh, sitting back in her chair.

I pointed over her shoulder at the screen while I read through the victim's list. "Wait. Barr. Christopher Barr. Where have I heard that name before?" I asked, thinking hard. It had been recently too.

"Christopher Barr," Cole said, reading from another article. "Was the victim in May, oh. Christopher Barr was Andrea's husband, Lucas' father. Apparently he took Lucas out swimming, and Lucas was on a floating raft, it was about two hours before anyone rescued him."

I stood up, frowning at this new information. The Sheriff had said they'd all been through a lot, it was starting to make sense now.

"Maybe we have an eye witness after all," Cole said and I nodded. I didn't like the idea of trying to get any information out of Lucas though, the kid clearly wasn't talking. I'd see that before.

"No wonder the kid is so freaked out," I said, thinking about when Mom had died in the house fire. "Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over."

Cole leaned back in her chair, a troubled look on her face. "We would know better than anyone," she said quietly. She was right, we would. Our two families had been through hell and back. I sat down on the bed and looked at her, feeling a lot of different emotions running through me.

"You know, I barely remember that night," I said to her. "Just images, really, feelings. The fire, the heat... then carrying Sam down the stairs and outside." Cole nodded at me, her eyes looking similarly possessed by the past – she'd been a lot older than me when her mom had been possessed, but it had no less impact on her. She'd been attacked by her own mother, and Bobby had to wrestle the knife out from her and then he'd stabbed her.

"Yeah," she said quietly, looking at her hands. "I know what you mean."

"I don't know what's worse," I admitted, frowning.

"What do you mean?" She asked, coming to sit beside me on the bed.

"Well Beth, she was a teenager when it happened to her, and it _still _haunts her. The amount of times she's woken up screaming from a nightmare..." I shook my head, it was too many to count, and heart breaking to watch. "But at least she remembers, you know? Half the time, I don't even know why I'm still fighting."

Cole sighed and leaned against me, her presence a comfort in and of itself. We might fight like cats and dogs, but at the end of the day, she'd been a part of my life since I was ten years old, that's a lot of history going back. Even if she had kicked me in the crown jewels almost the moment we met.

"You know, I've had one job and one job only since that night. Take care of Sammy. When Beth came, she got added to the list, but it's not the same – she takes care of me too, you know?" I asked Cole. She nodded her understanding with a smile. I stared at the wall, thinking about our lives and everything we'd been through, how it all seemed to be falling apart right now.

"You're allowed to let him go," Cole said quietly and I looked at her surprised. One of the biggest issues I had coming up now was that my job had changed. Sam was gone, how was I supposed to protect him now?

"I'm not sure I know how to," I confessed, looking at my hands. "Beth keeps saying he's still just a kid, and I argue with her, he's nineteen years old! But she's right. He is just a kid to us, he always will be."

"He'll be okay, Dean," Cole said, bumping her shoulder against mine.

"Yeah... maybe," I said. "But will we?"

"Well, you know, maybe you guys need some time, just for the two of you – you've got this new relationship to explore, Sam has college to explore, maybe it'll be good for everyone," Cole said. "Figure out what Beth means to you now the pair of you don't have to watch over Sam all the time. Have some fun!" She looked at me with a smile and I felt a moment of trepidation.

"Yeah, thanks," I said, not really knowing how to respond to that.

"Just don't go hurting my girl!" Cole said in a warning tone to me. I stared at her in surprise, my jaw almost hitting the ground.

"You kidding?" I asked.

"Well, you don't exactly have the reputation of a virginal saint," she quipped and I looked down at the floor, she was right about that.

"Don't go pushing her away anymore," Cole said. Now that was laughable. I looked up at her with an amused expression.

"Me?" I said with a snicker. "You think I've been the one pushing her away?" Cole raised a questioning eyebrow at me and I found myself getting defensive.

"Dude you have so got that backwards," I said with a laugh. "I've loved that girl since she was sixteen years old, god maybe even earlier than that, she's the one who's been running away all this time," I said.

"Did Dean Winchester just use the word _love?" _Cole said with a grin and I looked at her. She'd just reminded me why I didn't do chick flick moments. These last couple of weeks had turned me soft, that would have to change. I shoved at her and shook my head, standing up and moving across to the mini-bar in the room.

"Shut up!" I said for lack of a better comeback. I pulled out a bottle of whiskey and poured myself a drink.

"Have you told her?" Cole asked, still lounging on the bed. I shook my head.

"Has she said it?" She asked. I looked back at her, nodding my head slightly at her.

Cole sighed and threw her hands in the air, standing up to pour herself a drink from the same whiskey bottle.

"You need to tell her Dean," she said.

"She knows," I said. The whole thing was just making me feel uncomfortable, it was complete chick flick nonsense. Beth knew how I felt about her, I didn't have to tell her while down on bended knee holding roses for her to understand that.

"God what is it with you Winchesters and your damn inability to tell people how you feel?" Cole muttered, taking a gulp of her drink. I looked at her, curious.

"What?" I asked, starting to think there was more to that statement than me telling Beth about how I felt.

"Nevermind," Cole said a little dismissively, walking back to her computer. "Just trust me Dean. You need to tell her, say the damn words." I looked her, contemplating what she had just said, and took a long drink from my glass. I grimaced and then poured myself another. _Christ women were complicated._

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

**Beth's POV**

When we returned to the motel room, Dean and Cole had come up with a lead, Andrea's son Lucas. We decided that a couple of us should go and question Lucas and since it was almost 3pm, we knew where to find them: the park. I had tried to steal away with Dean, but John was having none of it.

"You look pale, Beth, you need to have a rest," he had said, and then he and Dean left, taking a couple of pieces of pizza with them.

I decided to take advantage of the fact that Cole and I were the only ones there, and take a shower. When I walked out of the bathroom I found Cole standing in the middle of the motel room, looking thoughtful.

"What's up?" I asked.

"So, where are we all sleeping tonight?" She asked, and I chuckled. I'd already been giving that a lot of thought.

"Guess you and I are sharing," I said to her with a grin.

"Yeah," Cole said with a nod. "Damn!" Her facial expression was so disappointed that it made me laugh.

"You've been spoiled; try living like this for a few years _every damn day _then you can talk to me about sexual tension," I said. It was sheer torture some nights, especially the nights where Dean had to sleep on the couch.

"I don't know how you do it," Cole muttered, shaking her head at me. She took one more look around the room and then nodded like she had come to a conclusion. "Okay, I want the side of the bed facing John," she said with a grin.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bag off the couch, tossing it by the wall. "Done." I said.

"Will Dean sleep in with John? Why does that seem just... wrong?" She asked. I laughed and shook my head.

"He'll take the couch," I said. "It's long enough." I went to the cupboard in the room and opened it, finding extra sheets and a blanket and pillow. Perfect. Pulling them down I started making up the couch for Dean, tucking the sheets around the cushions and then fluffing up his pillow.

"You're like their mother hen," Cole commented, watching me all the while.

I shrugged, and was relieved to find that my shoulder was feeling much better. The bed making had definitely taken a bit out of me though, I was starting to feel quite tired.

"Should see us on laundry day," I said with a laugh. Speaking of laundry, I looked down at my bag, curious. It had seemed a hell of a lot lighter when I'd just picked it up. I grabbed it, putting it on the bed and started to rifle through it. Half my clothes were gone!

Correction: all of Dean's clothes that I had conveniently redistributed for my own use were gone. _That sneaky man! _I rounded to his bag and unzipped it, chuckling when I saw some of my favourite t-shirts that belonged to him. I grabbed them back, along with a hoodie and returned them to my bag, zipping his up again. Oh this game was going to go on all week, I could tell.

My hand brushed across my little journal and I frowned. It was usually right down the bottom of my bag. I bit my lip, pulling it out. It didn't look like it had been opened, but that didn't mean much. Had Dean read it? I turned it over and over in my hands, contemplating. Well, it's not like anything was a secret anymore, but still, a lot of it was my inner most thoughts around him.

Cole looked over at me, picking through her own bag. "Soooo... you and Dean?" She said curiously.

"Yeah?" I asked, glancing at her. "What about us?"

"Anything you want to tell me?" She asked. I looked at her. What was with all the damn questions today? Between her and John I was ready to weep.

"Not really, why?" I said elusively. "Anything you think I should be telling you?"

"Oh, I don't know," Cole said, sinking down to lie on the bed, looking up at me. "Just seemed like you'd tell me when you go and say _'I love you' _to the man of your dreams," she said. I gaped at her, just what had she and Dean been talking about while we'd been gone?

"What? He told you that?" I asked, feeling the heat creep into my cheeks. I hadn't told Cole because of a couple of reasons, one was her ridiculous romantic teasing side, I'd never live it down; second was that she'd been incommunicado for a good month.

"Well, I had to practically drag it out of him," she said.

I decided to change the subject. "What about you and Dad?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I could go tit for tat on this one.

"What about us?" She asked with a sly look. I shook my head, moving around to grab Cole by the arms, pushing her back on the bed and climbing on top to pin her to the bed. A pain shot through my side as I accommodated the awkward position, but I ignored it as best I could.

"Tell me!" I laughed and Cole giggled at me like a hyena.

"I told him, okay?" She said, looking at me with a grin that spread from one side of her face to the other.

"And?!" I asked, wanting to know more.

Cole rolled her eyes at me. "First time he said it was on a drunken phone call to me three nights ago, why do you think I'm here?" She asked. Ah. Suddenly her reappearance around that night John had passed out was starting to make sense.

She started to breathe a little harder and pushed against my grip. "Can't... breathe..." she spluttered at me, but I was fairly certain she was over exaggerating. Just the same, I eased up on her a little, sitting back slightly to give her room to take in a breath or two.

"So tell me," Cole said with a smirk. "How does Dean like this position?" The question caught me off guard and I gasped, rolling off her to look back a little sheepishly. Cole was a notorious flirt, of course she'd want to know.

"I wouldn't know," I said to her, feeling the red blush creep into my cheeks.

"What? You guys haven't...?" She looked at me curiously and I shook my head.

Cole's facial expression was one of mixed horror and total amusement. "Damn girl, what the hell are you waiting for?!" She asked.

I crossed my arms, flashing her a frustrated look – she had a lot more autonomy than Dean and I did to run around and get it on with John. No one questioned where John was when he disappeared.

"Well, we've kind of not really been alone to take advantage of the fact, or whenever we have been, well I was in too much pain from the fall...or we were interrupted," I said. The whole thing was a big disaster. I touched my side tentatively where it was still aching, and Cole nodded.

"Ouch," she said sympathetically. "Well that sucks, John and I pretty much go at it like rabbits whenever we're around each other," she said, bringing my attention back to the night before.

"Ewwww! I don't need to know that!" I said with a screwed up nose, fighting not to put my hands over my ears and start humming with my eyes tightly shut. Cole grabbed my arm and led me back to the bed, a wicked look in her eyes. She pushed me back gently, trying to be careful of my injuries, I hissed a little at the pinch in my ribs.

This time Cole was straddling me, holding my arms above my head, I lay very still, so far, nothing was hurting. "John likes it like this," Cole said with a grin.

"Oh my god Cole, you're scarring me for life here!" I said, closing my eyes and forcing the image out of my head. I already knew what it sounded like, I didn't need a visual image to go with it!

"Suck it up sunshine!" Cole said. "I gotta talk to someone about this or I'm gonna die!" She laughed and I grinned at her.

"Looks like you'll be lonely tonight, can't say Dad has a plausible excuse for getting you in his bed," I teased her with a grin, she groaned out loud.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out," she said confidently. I raised an eyebrow, well Cole was the champion of sneaking out undetected.

Cole stared at me and I could tell by her facial expression that there was something going on inside that devious brain of hers.

"You can't tell me you haven't looked at John and thought about how freaking hot he is, at least once?" Cole said and I almost died on the spot. That was my dad she was talking about! She looked at me knowingly, smirking. "Maybe when you were first with them? Before he became more like your dad?"

I sucked in a breath, looking away from her because she was going to see it in my eyes.

"You did!" She said triumphantly. I looked back at her and let out a breath, rolling my eyes.

"Shut up!" I said, laughing. "Well he is like an older version of Dean you know." I said, shaking my head. It had been a passing fancy because within about a week of joining them I'd been firmly and steadfastly smitten with Dean, but for a tiny moment it had been there. "Oh I'm so going to Hell for even thinking that!" I muttered to Cole's delighted laughter.

The door opened and Dean waltzed in, I turned to look at him and his eyes widened with a grin. "Well, _hello ladies..._when the boys are away, the girls will play..." he said about the position we were currently in, running his eyes along the length of our bodies.

John frowned at him and shook his head. "That would be slightly amusing Dean if it weren't for the fact that you're ogling off your sisters," he said, and he clipped Dean at the back of his head.

Cole was grinning at John and she started to climb off me as he walked past.

"Ladies," John said with a grin, putting a bottle of whiskey on the table. I grimaced, I was hardly fifteen anymore, and looking at John now was like looking at my own father – that's all he was to me.

I rolled off the bed with Cole's help, groaning at the pain that shot through my side. It would be a relief when I was back to my usual self. John handed me a glass of whiskey upon hearing the groan and I downed it in one hit, letting the sting course along my throat with a sigh.

"Thanks Dad," I said, flashing him a smile which he returned silently.

"Easy duties for you this case Bethie," he said. "I don't want you re-opening that wound or doing anything worse." I nodded and sat down at the table, helping myself to some of the untouched pizza.

"So how'd the chat with Lucas go?" I asked, looking over at Dean.

"Yeah, uh, pretty pointless really," Dean said, grabbing a piece of pizza. "But me and the kid bonded, he's a good kid, just really messed up. He drew me this picture," he handed me a drawing of a cabin by the lake.

"And he doesn't talk at all?" Cole asked.

"No. Post-traumatic stress," John answered.

We all knew a little bit about that, all of us had been through some form of trauma in our lives, some more than others. I grimaced, poor Lucas, it was never easy when kids got caught in the middle of supernatural occurrences.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
Several Hours Later**_

**Beth's POV**

I woke up to the movement of Cole sitting up in bed, gasping for air. She clung to the blanket she'd pulled with her and looked around the darkened room, fighting off a panic attack.

"You okay?" I whispered to her, not wanting to wake the others up. Cole turned startled eyes to me and then nodded.

"Yeah, go back to sleep baby girl," she said, using the nickname everyone except Dean and Sam used for me.

I stared at her a moment, and then nodded, rolling back on to my side and closing my eyes. I felt Cole climb out of bed and then there was the sound of the keys jingling as she took them from the table and went outside.

I hesitated, wondering if I should follow. Cole wasn't one for talking about her nightmares much, but sometimes she just needed to know someone was there for her. I found myself drifting in and out of sleep, and when I looked at the clock again it had been a good twenty minutes since she had left the room and she hadn't come back. I started to worry, and decided I should check it out. The room was still dark, and I fumbled around for the end of the bed, using it to gauge where I was in the room.

Quietly I crossed past John's bed, and found the door, opening it and slipping outside.

"Oh!" I exclaimed when I got outside. I stared, finding John already outside and in an intimate embrace with Cole. Intimate was putting it lightly. I turned away from the sight of John holding the young blonde as he suckled on her nipple while she was sitting on the back of the Impala.

John pulled back at the sight of me, covering Cole up with her jacket and looking sheepishly at the ground.. "I was just coming out to check on you... oh, no, I so didn't just... oh! God!" I was speechless and found myself rambling in my haste to explain just why it was that I'd walked out there. "Man! You guys should give someone a little warning."

"Sorry," Cole laughed at me and I rolled my eyes. She didn't look sorry from where I was standing. John was completely silent, and I had a moment of satisfaction, realising that I now had one up on him. He now knew that I knew their little secret.

I looked at Cole grinning like a cheshire cat from the trunk of the Impala and I shook my head, waving my hand in the air. "Carry on..." I said with a sigh, and I walked back into the motel room.

I shut the door behind me with a grimace. I was hardly a prude, but at the end of the day you just don't want to see your father in an intimate embrace with your best friend. It just wasn't quite sitting right with me. I peeked out the curtain and saw they'd resumed their attentions on each other, as I watched, they climbed into the back seat of the Impala and I grimaced again. _Gross! _I didn't want to think about it. Dean would die if he knew what was going on the back seat of his precious _Baby._

_Dean._

That thought picked my mood up a little and I let the curtain fall closed. I raced across the room and knelt next to him at the side of the couch. His eyes were closed and his breathing had settled into a rhythm so I was fairly certain he was asleep. I grinned, and placed a few kisses into the crook of his neck. At the touch he groaned and shifted slightly, still asleep.

I trailed kisses along his jawline and then brushed my lips across his, taking his lower lip in my teeth and nipping slightly. He startled awake and I had a moment to rethink my plan when he suddenly shoved a knife up against my throat. I froze, watching him with a smirk, I knew he had control of his actions, but I wouldn't want to make any sudden movements.

Dean blinked sleepily and then seeing it was me, he relaxed and returned the knife under his pillow.

"Hey," he said with a smile, reaching out to smooth his fingers along my neck where the knife had been. "Something wrong?"

I shook my head and glanced back at my door.

"Kiss me," I said to him, and he frowned, looking around the room.

"Where is everyone?" He asked.

"Outside, Cole had a nightmare, Dad's with her," I said, _well I technically wasn't lying._

"You gotta kiss me right now and make me forget, I just saw the most disgusting thing." I said with a laugh.

"What?" He asked, still lying on the couch and brushing his hand along my neck.

"Some old dude going at this young girl out on a car," I said with a grimace. _Again, I wasn't technically lying, John was old... compared to us._

"Wow, you serious? Did Dad see?" He asked with a chuckle.

"I'm fairly certain he knows about it," I said with a grin. "Now… kiss me!" Dean grinned and leaned in to me, sliding his hand around the base of my neck.

A deep moan escaped from his throat as he pulled me against him, leaning in to the kiss. I ran my right arm over his side then up his back, sliding my hand under the t-shirt he was wearing so I could feel his bare skin under my hands. I groaned at the sensation, so acutely aware of how close he was to me.

Dean kissed me languidly, taking it slow and deep. I reached up to cup his face with my left hand, moaning at the taste of him, the feel of his lips as they traced along my own, his tongue sliding in to meet mine as we connected and caressed each other, drinking up every little sound that escaped our throats.

With a short groan, Dean sat up, continuing the kiss as he pulled me up beside him. He broke away long enough to settle me in his lap with my legs draped over his thighs while I leaned against the arm of the couch.

A soft yet calloused hand trailed the length of my bare legs, short bursts of electricity running along the skin of my outer thigh from the hem of my shorts and down to my knee. He teased the sensitive place under my knee and I giggled, ticklish. He smiled at my giggle and smoothed his hand further along my calves, down to my ankle, then stroked softly back along my leg. My breathing started to quicken, revelling as his touch caused my skin to raise in goosebumps. The simplest thing and he had me quivering beneath him.

I scooted further into his lap, feeling his arousal pressing below me. His skin was hot to the touch as I licked along his collarbone and up his neck, lingering my lips along his jawline, caressing his chin with my cheek, the stubble from today's growth only adding to the sensations that were threatening to engulf me. I felt my navel contract at the mere thought of him inside of me.

Reaching down I moved Dean's hand back to the hem of my shorts, moaning softly, guiding him where I knew he was hesitating to go, this was all so new to our relationship. I felt his hand start to slide under the fabric of my shorts, his fingers brushing along my inner thigh and I shivered in anticipation, moaning into his kisses. His thumb pressed up against my core, brushing along the material of my undies and I felt a gush of wetness spread out from me. I shifted, allowing him slightly better access as he broke away from the kiss, turning his attentions to sucking on the soft, tender skin in the crook of my neck.

He started to inch a finger inside of me, moaning when he found me wet and ready. I gasped with delight, arching up to meet his touch, leaning my head back against the arm of the couch while he slipped further inside me. He'd never taken things so far before, I found it intoxicating, years of wanting it, imagining it, and here it was. At the catch of my breath he plunged a second finger in, massaging me, thrusting with his touch. I groaned loudly, feeling a soft wave of pleasure course through me and I arched against him. He dragged his fingers back out over my clitoris, sending a deep shudder down my body. I whimpered at the loss of contact.

Dean shifted, moving to kneel over me; sliding me down to lie on the couch, I looked up at him as he laid his body along mine. He kissed me again, his tongue meeting mine with an urgent fervour as his thigh slid in between my legs, his soft bare skin brushing warmly between me against my throbbing, aching centre. I could feel his arousal pressed firmly against my thigh and I moaned just thinking about it.

"Oh God," he said breathlessly, kissing my lips softly and hovering his mouth over mine. "We so don't have time for this," he complained, and I glanced over at the door. _Just how long had John and Cole been?_

I groaned, he was probably right. _Damn it. _However I wasn't ready to give up on our fun just already.

"Don't stop just yet," I said softly, and I slid my hand down into his shorts, grasping his erection firmly in my hand, delighting in the sounds it brought from him. His eyes dilated and he groaned, bucking against my attentions. I dragged my fingers along the underside of him, flicking my thumb across his tip, and he shuddered with pleasure, holding himself above me.

"You're going to be the death of me, I swear," he said with a grin, kissing me as his fingers found their way back inside me and I struggled to focus, the sensations drawing me back into the pleasures of my own body. We forgot about the danger of being walked in on and succumbed to the moment, rocking against each other, drawing out the touches that had us quivering with sweet surrender.

I felt myself starting to peak and groaned into his shoulder as I kept one hand pumping him, my other arm I wrapped around his back, pulling him down to me. The shift in angles caused him to unbalance a little and he grabbed my side to reposition. I gasped a short painful breath as he pressed sharply against where I'd been impaled.

Dean froze, instantly aware of my discomfort.

"Sorry, uh sorry, are you okay?" He asked, pulling back immediately.

"Yeah, ow, it just hurt a little, I'm okay," I said to him, nodding. I had let go of him, just as he was now checking me over with his hands, our passions taking a back-seat in the wake of the pain that had shot through my side as he'd pushed on me. It was just as well because there was a rattle at the door and without any further warning Cole walked in with a self-satisfied look on her face, John right behind her.

"Uh, yeah," Dean said, shifting again to try and hide his level of arousal, which had fortunately fallen to a degree. "Yeah, it definitely looks pretty raw and red," he said, lifting my top slightly to peer at my wound, talking like this was the most normal thing in the world to walk into.

"Something wrong Bethie?" John asked, and I looked over at him, he seemed distracted, but he turned concerned eyes to me.

"Yeah, I mean, no, I just rolled over and got this stabbing feeling all of a sudden, I thought maybe I'd pulled something in my sleep." I said with a shrug. Cole walked over to me with a smug look on her face, glancing between the two of us and leaning down to look at the wound. It gave Dean a chance to move back and sit at the other end of the couch.

She lifted my top to inspect the wound. "Everything looks okay, probably just some random nerve pain or something," she said dismissively, looking up at John. "Take two aspirin and call me in the morning," she chuckled, glancing back at me.

I nodded and smiled, looking over at Dean who was doing his best to appear unconcerned. "Well, I'm going to go back to bed, thanks for taking a look guys," I said, standing up from the couch with a grimace. I had no idea how I was going to get to sleep with the recent acts of teasing and play still fresh in my mind. I thought about a shower, but Dean beat me to it, taking some fresh clothes and a towel with him.

I resigned myself to bed, trying to ignore the now uncomfortable feeling of my arousal seeping through the fabric of my undies and along my thigh. _Damn._

I shook my head at Cole as she climbed back into bed with me, turning on to her side to once again resume staring at John as he took the other bed. I rolled my eyes at the pair, it was typical John with his secrets. He didn't say anything, for a long while, and then he glanced over at me as the shower in the bathroom shut off.

"Get some sleep girls," John said. "Tomorrow is bound to be big, I need you rested."

I watched as Dean came back out of the bathroom, freshly showered, a new t-shirt and some sweatpants on. I smiled at him and he threw me a grin when John wasn't looking. John rolled on to his side facing the other direction and Dean quickly leaned down to kiss my forehead.

"Good night," he whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear, let alone anyone else. I smiled again and nodded, squeezing his hand before he went to the couch and settled in, closing his eyes and allowing sleep to claim him. Fortunately for me, sleep took me at the same time, so I wasn't left up all night fantasising about something I couldn't act on until a later date.

* * *

_**Lake Trail  
Next Morning**_

**Dean's POV**

Lake Manitoc must have had one of the busiest morning routines I'd ever seen. Usually if I took Beth for a jog in the morning we were the only ones around, with a scattering of other early morning joggers out for the same workout. Every man and his dog seemed to be out this morning, and it was only 6am.

Beth slowed to a walk beside me after only five minutes of running and I stopped to look back at her. She looked a little pale, and shook her head in frustration. "You go ahead," she told me, gesturing with her hand. "I'll keep walking and you can come back for me."

"You sure?" I asked, looking at her worriedly. We hadn't really done any kind of a workout in three weeks, but after last night, I needed to get a good one in to work through the frustrations. If there'd been less people around, and maybe a little more privacy to the park, I might have come up with a different solution. But if looking at Beth this morning told me anything, it was that she really needed to rest still, all these late nights, broken sleep, and now exercise seemed to be taking it out of her.

I kissed her quickly and smiled, jogging backwards along the trail until she was out of sight. I then turned and slipped into a comfortable pace, my breathing evening out. I stretched my legs a bit more, pushing into the run. I reached a sprinting pace before I started to tire, pumping my arms beside me. It wasn't until my legs started to burn that I realised I'd run almost to the end of the park that followed along the edge of the lake.

Stopping I glanced back, naturally Beth was no where in sight. I took a few breaths and started back at a more leisurely pace. Ten minutes later I was back where I'd started, and Beth was nowhere to be seen. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialled her, walking briskly along the path near where I'd seen her last.

"_Hey!" _She said happily into her phone when she answered.

I breathed in deeply and waited until I knew my voice would be level. "Hey yourself... where are you?" I asked, and she giggled.

"_At the bakery across the street," _she answered. I grinned and started in that direction when a police car went racing past, pulling up at the Carlton residence about fifty yards away.

"Hey Beth, you might want to get back here," I said.

"_Why? What's up?" _She asked, sounding concerned.

"Meet me at the Carlton house, I got a bad feeling something has happened," I answered and we hung up. I jogged along the path which curved past the Carlton house, slowing to a walk as I reached the perimeter of the property.

A neighbour was standing nearby and I wandered over to speak with her. "What happened?"

"Oh that poor man, to have his daughter drown, and now his son too!" She said, holding a hand to her mouth as we watched a body being wheeled out on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance.

Beth came hurrying up carrying a bag of goodies from the bakery and shooting me a curious look. When she saw the ambulance she stopped short.

"What happened?" She asked. I shrugged and felt around in my pockets. We hadn't brought our ID with us on the jog. Fortunately the Sheriff had arrived in the car I'd seen racing toward the house.

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

**Dean's POV**

We made it back to the motel room just as Cole was getting out of the shower. Great, I was going to need a shower after that run. She looked at us curiously as we walked in the door in our sweats and hoodies. I raised an eyebrow, I wasn't actually sure she bothered to do any form of exercise aside from beating the daylight out of boxing bags.

"So I think it is safe to say we can rule out Nessie," Beth announced as soon as we came in the door.

"What do you mean?" Cole asked, tossing us a confused look.

"We just ran by Will Carlton's house," I replied. "He drowned." Dad and Cole both looked up in surprise.

"Did uh, we mention he drowned in the kitchen sink and not the lake?" Beth asked, waiting to see their mouths drop open. I couldn't agree more, this was a freaking nightmare.

"Wow, and uh here I used to believe no one could actually drown in a kiddie pool. But a sink? Just, wow." Cole said.

"I know right? What the hell!" Beth answered, nodding at Cole.

"So you were right Cole, this isn't a creature; we're dealing with something else," I said, putting the bag from the bakery on the table and crossing to my bag, searching around for my second-favourite t-shirt. It was gone again. I stood up with a sigh and looked over at Beth, she raised an eyebrow at me and smiled innocently. _Oh this was war._

"Yeah but what the hell could it be?" Cold asked, exuding frustration.

"I don't know. Water wraith maybe?" Dad offered. "Some kind of demon? I mean, it's got to be something that controls water." He was right, and strangely enough that narrowed the field down considerably.

"Wait a minute," Beth said, nodding at Dad. "Water that comes from the same source?"

"The lake!" They both said at the same time, exchanging an excited look. I grabbed a fresh t-shirt and pair of jeans, and headed for the bathroom, they could figure this all out while I showered.

"Which would explain why it's upping the body count; the lake will be dry in a few months," Dad added.

"Yeah, whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it's running out of time," Beth said.

"Here's a comforting thought," Cole said. "If this thing can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, anywhere. This is gonna happen again soon." I grimaced. Great. I looked at the clothes in my hands, suddenly taking a shower wasn't such a priority. I put the clothes back down on the couch and moved to a chair at the table.

"And we know one other thing for sure," Dad said, moving aside as I took a seat. "We know that this has got something to do with Bill Carlton."

"Yeah, it took both of his kids," I said, reaching for a donut out of the bakery bag.

"I think it's going after anyone Carlton cared about," Cole said. "Yesterday, Beth and I were asking around while you guys were out. Chris, Lucas' father, was Bill Carlton's godson."

I looked over at Beth and she was nodding as she looked back at me. "Well what do you say you and I go pay Bill a visit?" I asked her. She nodded back at me. I looked over at Dad, he was lost in thought, but when he saw me seeking confirmation he nodded at me.

Getting up, I grabbed the clothes I'd been going to change into. I debated the danger and then figured it was worth it. I jumped in the shower and washed the sweat away from the morning's run. Beth showered once I was done getting changed.

I paced, waiting on her to finish, hopping into some of the pastries she'd bought at the bakery. I was looking forward to getting her away for a break, just the pair of us. Job or no job, at least I could stop having to be on my guard around her so much. When Beth came out, she had passed on washing her hair – having just given it a good brush so it now hung down around her shoulders in long brown waves. She shrugged on a jacket and looked expectantly at me.

"Ready?" I asked Beth and she nodded. I looked over at Dad and announced our intention to leave. "Okay, well, we'll see you guys later; we'll call if we find anything."

Dad was writing in his journal, and he barely even glanced at us while we left. "Stay safe," he said as we closed the door on our way out.

* * *

_**Carlton House**_

**Beth's POV**

Bill Carlton was sitting on the bench at the dock when we arrived. He looked forlorn and resigned.

"Mr Carlton?" I asked, walking up to him. He looked up at us both. "We'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind." We flashed him our badges.

Dean nodded, putting his badge away. "We're from the, the Department..."

"I don't care who you're with. I've answered enough questions today," Carlton snapped at us. I shrugged at Dean and pressed on, we needed answers.

"Your son said he saw something in that lake. What about you? You ever see anything out there?" I asked, watching him curiously.

"Mr Carlton," I said, pushing a little further. "Sophie's drowning and Will's death – we think there might be a connection to you or your family."

Carlton stared out at the lake, tears in his eyes, shaking as he spoke to us. "My children are gone. It's... it's worse than dying." He looked up at me and the agony in his face was undeniable. "Go away. Please."

I looked at Dean and he nodded, making his way back along the dock toward the car. "What do you think?" I asked, as we reached the Impala.

"Aw, I think the poor guy's been through Hell," Dean answered, looking at me. "I also think he's not telling us something,"

He paused and looked over at the Carlton house.

"What is it?" I asked, puzzled by his sudden stillness. Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out the picture Lucas had given him earlier.

"Huh," he said, glancing back up at the Carlton house. "Maybe Bill's not the only one who knows something," he said, handing me the picture. I compared the drawing of the house with the cabin in front of us, it was pretty much an exact match. I looked at Dean and nodded. Definitely worth checking into.

* * *

_**Devins / Barr House**_

**Dean's POV**

Andrea wasn't real sure about letting us talk to the kid, but we were used to getting around people's reservations, after a while you become very comfortable with forcing your way into someone's life when they didn't want you there – all it took was confidence and the ability to push against someone's boundaries without breaking them. It was amazing what some people would allow you to do or say if it meant avoiding conflict.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea," Andrea was saying to Beth as we stood just inside the doorway.

"I just need to talk to him," I said to her. "Just for a few minutes."

"He won't say anything. What good's it gonna do?" Andrea asked, shrugging her shoulders.

"Andrea, we think more people might get hurt. We think something's happening out there," Beth said gently. Andrea shook her head.

"My husband, the others, they just drowned. That's all," she said stubbornly, hands on her hips.

"If that's what you really believe," I said. "then we'll go. But if you think there's even a _possibility _that something else could be going on here, please let me talk to your son." I glanced over at Beth whose mouth twitched up in a half-smile.

She relented, fear flashing across her eyes.

Lucas was in his bedroom colouring. He had a bunch of those plastic toy soldiers sitting around him. Beth and Andrea waited at the doorway while I crouched down in front of him. The boy didn't even acknowledge my presence, just continuing to draw.

"Hey Lucas," I started, looking at the pictures spread out in front of him. "You remember me?" He didn't even nod, ignoring me completely.

"You know, I uh, I wanted to thank you for that last drawing. But the thing is, I need your help again." I said, wishing that I really didn't have to ask. I opened the picture he'd drawn me and put it in front of the boy.

"How did you know to draw this? Did you know something bad was gonna happen?" He didn't reply, didn't even acknowledge that I had said a word, but I pressed on. "Maybe you could nod yes or no for me." Lucas simply kept on colouring. I watched him for a moment, he reminded me so much of me when Mom had died, it was uncanny. The only thing that had really brought me out of it in the end had been Sam.

"You're scared. It's okay. I understand." I said, swallowing. "See, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom, and I was scared too. I didn't feel like talking, just like you," I glanced up at the door and saw Andrea and Beth watching intently. I cleared my throat and turned back to Lucas. "But see, my mom – I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day. And I do my best to be brave. And maybe, your dad wants you to be brave too."

Lucas paused, dropping his crayon and looked up at me. He reached out, picking up one of the pictures he'd drawn and handed it to me. It was of a white church with a yellow house next door, a boy in a blue baseball cap holding a red bicycle stood outside a wooden fence.

"Thanks Lucas," I said softly. Now we had a clue.

* * *

_**Impala**_

**Beth's POV**

I was staring at the picture while we drove back toward the town.

"Andrea said the kid never drew like that till his dad died," Dean said to me, I raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"There are cases – going through a traumatic experience could make people more sensitive to premonitions, psychic tendencies..." I had read of a few, it was rare, but enough that it was documented.

"Whatever's out there, what if Lucas is tapping into it somehow? I mean, it's only a matter of time before somebody else drowns, so if you got a better lead...?" He looked over at me and I shook my head.

"Nope, looks like we got another house to find," I said.

"The only problem is there's about a thousand yellow two-storeys in this county alone," Dean complained. I stared at the picture again, that wasn't what had caught my eye.

"Yeah," I said thoughtfully, my fingers tracing the steeple of the building next to the yellow house in the picture. "But I bet there's less than a thousand of these churches around," I said. If anyone knew churches in this family, it was me.

Dean nodded and I looked over at him, he seemed a little lost in thought.

"Hey, what you said about Mary..." I said quietly, looking at his face. "You never told me that before." I shouldn't have been surprised, he'd only been four when she died, how did I expect him to have handled it? With the same bravado he did now?

"It's not a big deal," Dean said dismissively.

I looked at him, seeing a little bit more of the child within and smiled, he was always so busy being the strong one for us all, that I hadn't really stopped to think about how vulnerable that might make him sometimes. I'd gotten a tiny glimpse into that in the last few weeks when I was injured, but it was a novelty to me, to see this side of Dean.

Dean glanced back at me rolling his eyes. "Oh God, we're not gonna have to hug or anything, are we?" He said sarcastically at me, I snickered.

"Maybe," I teased. Dean looked back at me with a twinkle in his eye.

"Because I got a better idea than hugging if you want to go in that direction..." he said with a cheeky grin. I laughed and shook my head at him.

"Later... first we need to find this house, huh?" I said, opening my phone.

"You calling Dad?" He asked, and I nodded, dialling and putting the phone to my ear.

"Those two ought to do something to earn their keep," I said with a grin.

John's phone went straight to voicemail, I frowned and dialled Cole's phone instead, listening to the tone as it rang.

"_Hello?"_ She answered with an exasperated tone which threw me for a bit. _What the Hell was her problem?  
_

"Cole, hey, we think we found something. We went to see Bill Carlton and got nowhere, so then we decided to go and see Lucas again," I explained, listening as the girl on the other end fell silent.

"Well Lucas helped Dean out a bit but we are kind of searching for a needle in a haystack. We could use your guys' help," I said. I knew she wasn't going to be happy about it, you could tell when we left that she was looking forward to some alone time with John.

"_Uh huh,"_ Cole said, sounding distracted. I swear I heard her pant a little and then I thought about what I would have been doing with Dean if the situation was reversed and I gagged. _Serious?  
_

"Um Cole, what are you doing?" I asked as Dean pulled the car into a parking spot in the main square of town. I didn't get much more of a response other than a groan over the phone, which had me getting out of the car quickly, much to Dean's amused look.

"Ewww! You know what, don't tell me. Yuck!" I whispered into the phone as Cole moaned again – I didn't even want to think about what John was doing to her right now. "Oh gross. God. Oh nasty!" I looked over at Dean who was now leaning on the roof of the car watching me.

"Okay, um, you guys just um, carry on or whatever, and uh Dean and I will call you when we know something, anything else." I said quickly.

"_Uh huh,"_ Cole said and that just irritated me all of a sudden. If that were Dean and me on the other end and we were behaving like this on a job John would kick our asses into next week. Why did the rules suddenly not apply to him?

Dean was gesturing at me, wondering what the hell was taking so long with the conversation. I shrugged and then turned away, leaning into the car to rummage through my bag. "Ya know what? No, both of you come and help us – Dad wouldn't let Dean and me get away with this, if he knew about us," I said, standing back up and closing the door. I looked at Dean with a raised eyebrow. "What the heck happened to my light duties on this case?" I said angrily.

Cole simply moaned at me again and looked at the phone exasperatedly. "Oh for god sake get your act into gear and get out here," I muttered, watching Dean as he started walking down the pavement toward a group of churches on the corner. John's voice came over the phone, low and grumbling.

"Get off of the phone," he growled and I shuddered in disgust.

"Oh my God! I'm scarred for life here!" I said, hurrying to catch Dean. Cole whined into the phone again and I shook my head. "Get your asses out here and help us!" I snapped, hanging up on them. I couldn't believe John was acting so…. teenage like.

Dean turned a curious eye to me and pointed at the white church across the road. I nodded, it did look a little like the one in the picture, but there was definitely no yellow house nearby.

"What the hell were you talking to them about?" He asked as I tucked my phone back into my jeans pocket.

"Oh, they're arguing or something, I don't know…" I said elusively. Dean snorted.

"They're always arguing, I don't get it, they're like an old married couple," he said and I stared at him. He shuddered and wrapped his arms around me. "Which is a disgusting thought, by the way, Cole is my age!" He added and I chuckled, kissing him lightly.

"You don't have to tell me twice," I said with a grin. "You know what, I'm starving, and we've been doing all the work this morning. Let's go get an early lunch while we wait for them to join us." Dean nodded, turning an appraising eye to a diner across the street that was advertising warm apple pie. I chuckled, and heard my stomach rumble. Pie sounded really good, actually.

A couple hours later John and Cole had rousted themselves out of bed and actually managed to find the very house we were looking for while Dean and I enjoyed a leisurely lunch. It was nice to be able to just sit and talk, enjoy each other's company without having to pretend we were something we weren't. It was short lived, because soon enough we found ourselves canvassing the neighbourhood around the yellow house they had located.

John and Cole went in to question the lady who lived in the house, while we looked for anything that looked suspicious. Which was as much to say, we spent the time walking around in circles and finding nothing. We were arriving back at the yellow house when John and Cole came out from their interview.

"Anything?" Cole asked. I shook my head at her, starting to feel a little annoyed. I was supposed to be the one resting and yet how was it that I'd been the one walking around for the last half hour?

"Hon, are you okay? You're looking a little a green," Cole asked and I sighed.

"Yeah, I'm not feeling the best," I admitted, my hands felt clammy and my side was really starting to ache. "But it doesn't matter, there's work to be done," I said pointedly, looking at John with a stare that hopefully told him that I was well aware of what they'd been up to, and how it wasn't Dean and me holding up the investigations this time. John raised an eyebrow at me, but didn't comment. "What did you guys find out?" I asked.

"Okay, so this little kid, Peter Sweeney, vanishes. And somehow all of this is connected to Bill Carlton," Cole said. "He went missing from here thirty-five years ago, and no one has seen him since."

"Yeah, Bill sure as hell seems to be hiding something, huh?" Dean said, glancing at me. I nodded in agreement.

"And Bill, the people he loves, they're all getting punished," I pointed out. It was creepy, I hated the family curse thing, mostly because I was starting to think I had one – what with both my parents being dead.

"So what if Bill did something to Peter?" Dean asked.

"What if Bill killed him?" John said, crossing his arms and staring thoughtfully at the house.

"Yeah, well then Peter's spirit would be furious, it would want revenge, it is possible," Dean said with a nod.

John looked over at me, assessing my stance and the way I was leaning against the car. "Beth you really do look a little pale," he said. He looked at Dean and nodded in my direction. "Why don't you go ahead and take your sister back to the motel Dean? Cole and I can handle Carlton. We'll call you if we need you guys for anything."

I quietly sighed in relief. I really did want to rest for a while; it had been a long day already. Dean nodded and opened the car door for me. Within minutes we were driving away from the others.

"Can we not go back to the motel?" I asked Dean as he pointed the car toward the middle of town.

"Huh? Why not?" He asked.

"I'm sick of motel rooms, it's the only thing I've seen for the last two weeks," I said, staring out the window.

"Well you need to rest," he said and I nodded, I had an idea about that too.

"Can we go down by the lake? How about that park we were in this morning?" I suggested. Dean thought about it for a moment and then nodded, turning a corner toward the park.

"Yeah, okay, I saw a spot earlier that'll work," he said, shrugging. He pulled the car into a parking area near the walking trail and we got out. The day was overcast, but otherwise clear – the air fresh and clean. I smiled at the ducks floating by on the water and wished I had some bread to toss their way.

Dean led me over to a little grassy area by the water and we sat down. He slipped his arm around my shoulders and I leaned my head into the curve of his neck with a happy sigh. We sat like that, watching the water ripple on the lake for what seemed like a lifetime. After a while I felt his warm breath tickle across my skin as he turned his head to look at me, kissing my neck.

"I love you," he said softly, it was barely a whisper that echoed in my ear. I was instantly on edge, surprised at this declaration. I certainly hadn't been expecting it.

Dean ran a hand up under my hair and brushed his fingers lightly along the back of my neck, turning my head to face him.

"Did you hear me?" He said, and I nodded wordlessly, smiling.

Butterflies flipped around in my stomach and I felt like a little schoolgirl as his lips brushed over mine, trailing softly at first and then turning more serious. With a demanding moan deep in his throat he pushed me back on the grass bringing his hand up to stroke along my cheek while he kissed me.

He broke away and looked down at me, his eyes watching me intently. "You going to say something?" He queried. A big smile spread across my face as I looked up at him.

"Did it hurt?" I asked cheekily. He rolled his eyes and pulled away, sitting up, managing to look offended. "I'm kidding!" I said, climbing over and bracing myself against the pain that shot up my side. I straddled his lap and looked into his eyes with another smile.

"I know," I said softly, kissing his lips. "I love you more."

Dean smirked, shaking his head as he pulled me close to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face into his shoulder. "I doubt that," he said quietly, squeezing me tight.

I don't know how long we sat like that, but it was long enough that my thighs started to tighten and ache, and even then I didn't want to move; Dean was softly tracing circles in the small of my back and it was comforting, it made me feel nurtured and sleepy.

With a groan of reluctance I pulled away, running my hands through his hair as I brushed it back from his forehead.

"Say it again," I said, biting my lower lip and smiling.

Dean chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Getting a bit greedy aren't you?" He asked.

"Dean!" I said in mock exasperation. He grinned and kissed me with a hungry yearning before pulling away.

"I love you Beth," he said, looking at me unflinchingly. I couldn't wipe the smile from my face, I felt like a lovesick teenager. My heart was beating like it might jump out of my chest and my eyes were starting to get watery. In that moment I knew there would never be anyone else for me, he was it, for better or for worse.

I turned to sit in between his legs, leaning back into his chest with a strained groan.

"Anything else you want to tell me?" I asked, twisting my head to look up at him.

Dean looked down at me confused and I chuckled. I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out my little journal, the one that I was completely sure he'd seen earlier and he looked a little sheepishly at me.

"I didn't read it," he said, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Do you want to?" I asked, he laughed and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Do _you_ want me to?" He asked, kissing the back of my neck.

"Well it's pretty much all about you," I said with a smile.

"Really?" He asked. "Well pick an entry, I want to hear it," he said with a grin.

I chuckled and shook my head. "Well this one's only for this year, so … yeah." I said, flipping through the journal. I closed my eyes and just opened it to a random page, staring at the writing before me.

"Ugh," I said, and started to close the journal.

"No, no, no… wait, you can't do that!" Dean said, snatching the journal from my hands.

"Dean!" I protested, trying to grab it back.

"Come on, you can tell me anything, I promise I won't laugh," he said, snuggling me in against him, his chin on my shoulder as he brought the journal around.

I sighed and leaned back into him, taking the journal, which he handed over without complaint. I settled in and prepared to bare my soul.

"_May 12 - __ Ohio. Dean has been seeing some other girl this last week, and it breaks my heart. I know I shouldn't let it get to me, that it's more than I can offer him and he deserves to be happy, but why can't it be with me? No one could love him more than I do. I want to tell him, but I can't. Dad would kill us. Jefferson says I should toss the rules out the window, but I can't. What if Dad told me to leave? Where would I go? I couldn't bare it. I'd rather live in this constant agony than face the unknown repercussions of confessing something that might only be one-sided in the end anyway." _ I paused, looking down at my hands and sighed.

"Sorry," Dean said softly into my ear. "I didn't know."

"I know," I said, leaning back to kiss him again.

"Read me your last entry," he requested and I hesitated. "Please."

It was the please that got me. I nodded and flipped to the last entry. It was from a week ago.

"_August 20 – Kittanning PA -__ I'm scared. I'm frightened that I'm going to wake up and it was all a dream. The last few weeks have been unreal. I'm physically sore and tired, but my heart is full of hope. Hope and fear. We don't get to be happy in this family, how can I believe this will be any different? There are cultures out there who never speak of their happiness, they're so afraid that the evil forces out there will hear and consider it a challenge or something. Maybe they're on to something. I'm scared to let myself be happy, what if it's all taken away? But I'm falling deeper and deeper with every day. We still haven't told Dad, because the thought of him over-reacting is just too real, especially after Sam. What if he made us choose? Him or us? What if Dean chooses the job over me? I could never ask him to choose between his father and me, how is that fair? So we wait. Wait for the right moment, and pray that Dad takes it better than we expect him to, because I don't stand to lose just Dean, I stand to lose everything._

Dean sucked in a deep breath when I stopped reading, his arms tightening around me just slightly. I closed my eyes, waited for him to say something, to say anything.

"What no mention of my amazing kissing?" He said with a teasing tone. I chuckled and looked up at him.

"Oh, it's in there..." I said with a smile that didn't quite reach my eyes. I was too busy thinking about everything that could go wrong.

"Turn around," he said after a quiet pause, and I looked up at him curiously, twisting to face him as I sat sideways on his lap.

"You don't have to be afraid," he said, hazel eyes meeting mine in a tortured look. I chewed on my bottom lip, unsure of how to answer that. I had a lot of things to be afraid of, I couldn't just dismiss them all without cause.

"I would never choose the job over you," he said, I gulped, my eyes widening as he spoke. "I can't do it without you. Well I can, but I don't want to," Dean said, stroking his hand along my cheek and holding my face lovingly.

"Me neither," I said, nodding.

"So promise me now, today, you'll always be with me. Because I will never leave you. I will be here with you every step of the way to the end, forever. Just stay with me, just love me." Tears had started falling down my face about halfway through his speech. I peppered him with kisses along his jaw and lips, smiling through the tears.

"I promise," I said with another smile. "I do. You'll never have to do this alone, never again. Wild horses couldn't drag me from you, I love you, and nothing will ever take that away. We do this together, Dean, just like we always have."

We stared at each other, and then broke into broad smiles, looking a little sheepishly at each other.

"Well that was... unexpected," I said. "Talk about a chick flick moment. I thought you hated those," I grinned and Dean laughed.

"I do!" He said adamantly with a nod. "But some things just need to be said. I'm going to blame the Swayze movie...and all the others you made me watch last week," he claimed, and it made me laugh heartily. He might joke, but when he looked at me it was with a seriousness in his eyes, he wanted me to know he meant every word, even if chances were I may never hear them again. It was okay, he'd said it once, and that's what mattered. Dean reached out once more to pull me up to him, meeting me in a delicate kiss, that held a world of emotion.

~ To Be Continued ~

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

The song for this chapter is: _Right Place Right Time _by Olly Murs

* * *

The lake scene is dedicated to _theshadowlight _who got the reference to the lake and the promise in _Magnificent Seven _when I touched briefly upon it :)

* * *

Cole's version of this story can be read over at _How To Save A Life _by EarthhAngel – if you like John I recommend you going and checking it out :)

* * *

Thank you to everyone who has left reviews recently! I will be getting back to you at some point, I just want to keep writing while the muse is there :) Please continue to review, you know I love it!

* * *

Check out the Facebook page, put in the address, then add /pages/Dean-Beth-Supernatural-Fanfic/6167414450129 46

* * *

Please review :) Mahalo


	12. Resolution (Dead in the Water - Part 3)

_**A/N **_The final piece to _Dead in the Water. _Follows on from_ Promises – Dead In The Water Part 2 (Chapter 11) _Now that I've finished I probably could have just included it in Part 3, but oh well! It's shorter than the rest, you'll just have to live with it :)

This is Beth & Dean's POV of EarthhAngel's chapter "Dead in the Water – Holy Water" over at _'How To Save A Life'_. I would recommend checking it out if you're not familiar with who Cole Singer (OFC) is and her relationship with John, because it's featured pretty prominently in this one.

This is Beth & Dean, the very beginning of their relationship while they're still hiding it from John. You'll definitely want to read _Bring Me To Life (1,2 & 3)_ over at my story _All Hell Breaks Loose _and Part 1 & 2 (previous 2 chapters first if you haven't already.

* * *

_One month down and it's in sight__**  
**__oh, I'm guaranteed to lose my mind__**  
**__It's dangerous to speak and sigh__**  
**__You might know what I'm trying to hide_

_So from the cradle to quarter age__**  
**__oh, I bought the book but didn't flip the page__**  
**__oh, readiness is near. We steer__**  
**__As far away from the coming of days_

_So, don't you worry__**  
**__You'll be my resolution__**  
**__Characters of no illusion__**  
**__You'll be my resolution_

* * *

**RESOLUTION  
****DEAD IN THE WATER (Part 3)  
**_**5 years ago**_

* * *

_**Main Street, Lake Manitoc**_

**Dean's POV**

We'd returned to the motel, Dad and Cole still weren't back so we decided to take a stroll down the street and look around. As we rounded the corner leading to the police station, we saw Dad enter the police station with the Sheriff.

"What the...?" I muttered, seeing the truck parked out the front.

"Nice of them to keep us updated on the turn of events," Beth said, raising an eyebrow at me.

I smirked and nodded. "Come on, let's go gate crash," I said with a grin, which earned one in reply.

We entered the police station to find Dad and Cole in the front foyer with Sheriff Devins. As we joined them, Andrea looked up from behind the counter where she'd been sitting with Lucas.

"Nicole and John?" she said curiously, then looked past them. "Dean, Beth...I didn't expect to see you here."

The Sheriff gestured to Dad and Cole, raising an eyebrow. "So now you're on a first name basis?" He asked, opening the door into the office space. "What are you doing here?"

"I brought you lunch," Andrew replied, holding up some containers of food.

"Oh, I'm sorry sweetheart; I don't really have the time," Devins said apologetically shrugging off his jacket and fiddling with it. I was looking at Lucas who was sitting and rocking beside his mother.

"I heard about Bill Carlton," Andrea said quietly to her father. "Is it true? Is something going on with the lake?"

"Right now we don't know what the truth is," Devins responded. "But I think it might be better if you and Lucas went on home." Lucas looked up at this statement, panic in his eyes. Suddenly he jumped out of his chair and surprised me by grabbing at me, pulling on my arm and whimpering.

I glanced and Beth who looked startled and then knelt as the boy continued to pull on my arm. "Lucas, hey, what is it?" I asked, but I didn't get a response. The boy was clearly distraught, holding on to me as Andrea tried to pull him away. "Lucas, Lucas. It's okay, it's okay," I tried to reassure the boy as Andrea looked a little worried. "Hey Lucas, it's okay," I said.

"Lucas," Andrea said, wrapping her arms around the boy. She pulled him off me, and guided him toward the door. He stopped crying, but continued to stare at me as they left.

Devins watched them leave, clearly upset, and when they were gone he stalked into his office. I continued to watch as Andrea pulled Lucas down the steps, the boy kept turning around to look back at us. He was upset, and it made me feel like we'd missed something.

"Hey," Beth said gently from beside me, putting her arm around my shoulder. "You okay?" I nodded silently at her, seeing that Dad and the Sheriff had already moved into the office. Cole was watching me too, a concerned look on her face as she stared out the glass doors the way Andrea had left.

Beth gestured for me to head into the office, and then they followed. There was only the two chairs, so I stood against the wall, leaving one free for Beth, she needed the rest. Dad was still standing, looking at Cole who shook her head, coming to stand next to me against the wall. Seeing that she wasn't going to sit, he took the remaining chair.

Devins took a seat on the corner of his desk, looking over at Dad. "Okay, just so I'm clear," He said, looking between Dad and Cole. "You two see, something, attack Bill's boat. Sending Bill, who is a very good swimmer by the way, into the drink, and you both never saw him again?" He looked sceptical, and I couldn't say that I blamed him.

Dad and Cole both nodded, but it was the short round that spoke. "Well, yeah," Cole said quietly with a shrug.

"That about sums it up," Dad said. Devins stared at them in surprise.

"And I'm supposed to believe this even though I've already sonar swept that entire lake. And what you're describing is impossible." He looked at Dad. "And none of yoy are really wildlife service," he said with a raised eyebrow.

I glanced over at Cole, who was giving me a mild look of panic.

"Yeah, see I checked with your superiors," Devins said. "Or who would have been your superiors. The department has never heard of any of you."

"See, now we can explain that," I offered, but when I went to come up with a suitable reason, I came up blank. I looked over at Cole with an expression that basically said _jump in any time, Chewbacca!_

"Enough," Devins said. "Now the only reason any of you are breathing free air is because a neighbour of Bill's saw him steering out that boat just before you did," he said. Beth looked back at us over her shoulder, a mixture of relief and worry on her face.

"Now we have a couple of options here. I can arrest you all on principle for impersonating government officials and hold you all as material witnesses in the Carlton disappearance. Or we can chock all this up to a bad day. You get in your cars, you put this town in your rearview, and you don't ever darken my doorstep again," he said pointing his finger at Dad, and staring at the man.

Dad refused to be intimidated, it was usually him dishing it out rather than receiving it. Cole shifted anxiously beside me and I could see that she was just itching to start a fight – typical.

"Door number two sounds good," Dad replied in a low voice.

"That's the one I'd pick!" Devins said, standing and opening his office door again. I looked over at Cole, she didn't seem to be agreeing with the decision, Beth still looked worried, and coupled with my own gut feeling like something was still wrong, I knew this wasn't quite over yet.

Dad and Cole drove back to the motel while Beth and I walked. We arrived with minutes between each other. As soon as we were in the motel room I decided to let it out.

"Dad, I really don't think this case is done," I said, looking over at the man; he was currently packing stuff into his bag, frowning.

"Dean," he said wearily. "I'm certain this case is closed. Cole and I saw Carlton get blown to kingdom come. The spirit got his revenge for whatever Carlton did to him."

Beth was looking conflicted, staying out of the whole debate. Cole on the other hand was only too happy to jump in with her opinion.

"Yeah, John, that's all true but..." she faltered, the look he'd given her enough to stop an elephant in its tracks.

"Look, Sweeney got his revenge on Carlton," Dad said stubbornly. "Carlton and everyone he cared about is dead. They all drowned. Case closed, goodbye, the end." I crossed my arms, but didn't open my mouth, he was on a rant and one just didn't interrupt Dad when he was in the middle of one of those. "Plus we've been officially run out of town by the authorities – if we stay we'll all be in a world of trouble."

I snickered, since when did that worry Dad? "Dad, so what happens if we take off and this thing isn't done?" I asked.

"Lucas was really scared, Dad," Beth interjected with a worried look.

He sighed, looking around at us – he'd just been completely ganged up on. Dad turned to Cole and sighed. "What's your take on this Nicole?" He asked.

She sucked in a breath and looked at him apologetically, which was curious to me. "I think that realistically, if this thing with Lucas is some kind of psychic ability that is tapped into the spirit, it would have stopped the minute Sweeney got his revenge," she said. "It clearly hasn't. John that kid was freaking out back at the police station."

Dad sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, okay, but pack your bags because the minute we find out everything is fine, we're leaving," Dad said gruffly, shaking his head. He turned and looked at me, a raised eyebrow firmly in place.

"Who the hell are you, and what have you done with my son?" He asked. I smiled, I had been having a few chick flick moments today – Beth was definitely having an effect on me – I wasn't sure if it was for the better or not!

"Yeah Dean, that was practically a Hallmark moment," Cole said with a smirk. I glared at her.

"Shut up!" I snapped, brushing past her to the couch where I started shoving the remaining items that belonged to me into my bag. This conversation was over.

* * *

_**Devins / Barr Household**_

**Beth's POV**

Dean had wanted to check on Lucas, so we all decided to take a ride in the Impala and check it out. The house looked empty, but it was always hard to tell at this time of day. We decided to knock anyway.

"Okay, so are you sure about this Dean?" John asked as Dean pushed the doorbell, the latter was busy nodding his head, determined.

Without warning the door was thrown open and I looked down to see Lucas standing in the opening, panting and looking panicked.

"Lucas?" Dean asked, reaching for the boy. Lucas stepped back out of arm's reach and then ran up the stairs which had ominously had water running down them. Dean was hot on his heels. He stopped at a doorway and started pounding on it. Everything happened like a blur after that. Dean grabbed at Lucas, pulling him away from the door and handing him to me. I wrapped my arms around the boy and held on tight while Dean turned to kick in the door.

John rushed in ahead of the Dean and everyone recoiled with shock at the sight before them. There was an overflowing tub spilling foul brown water out from over the top. Andrea was stuck under the water, struggling against an unseen force, holding her down.

Falling to his knees beside the tub, John grabbed Andrea under the shoulders, trying to pull her up, but the spirit had too strong a hold. Cole went to the other end, reaching into the murky water and pulling the plug – it didn't help get the water to go out.

A few more moments and John managed to pull her free from the water with almighty grunt, both of them falling to the floor. Cole grabbed a towel and placed it over Andrea as she lay on her side, coughing up water. I let go of Lucas and he rushed forward to grab at his mother.

Cole reached down to help John to his feet while Andrea sat on the tiles holding Lucas and sobbing.

"Thank you," she said.

I took Dean's arm and nodded toward the stairs. "We'll be downstairs," I said quietly, indicating we should give the woman a chance to get dressed in privacy. Cole lingered at the top of the stairs until she was certain there would be no further water attack, and then she joined us in the living room.

"Can you tell us what happened?" I asked Andrea. We were all sitting in the living room around the coffee table except for Dean, who had wandered off saying he needed to check something out.

"It doesn't make any sense," Andrea said. "I'm going crazy..." she said, covering her face with her hands.

"No, you're not," I said, shaking my head.

Cole leaned forward and touched her shoulder, drawing her back from her thoughts. "Hey, you're gonna be okay, we're gonna help you – but we need you to tell us what happened, everything," she said.

I looked out the large windows toward the lake, the sun was just starting to show signs of sinking toward the horizon, it would be dark within a few hours, and we still were no closer to finding a solution to this puzzle.

"I heard... or I thought I heard... a voice..." Andrea said.

"What did it say?" John asked.

"It said 'Come play with me'," Andrea answered softly, her voice barely a whisper. "What's happening?" she asked fighting back more tears as she buried her face in her hands again.

Dean walked into the room carrying an old photo album which he put on the coffee table in front of Andrea. "Do you recognise any of the kids in these pictures?" He asked, getting straight to the point. I leaned forward and looked curiously at the old black and white photos.

Andrea looked at him and then down at the photos, flipping through a couple of pages. "No, um except that's my dad, here and here, he must have been like twelve in these pictures" she said pointing to a photo of three young boys.

John was looking at the photo she pointed to and then glanced up sharply like he recognised one of the boys.

"That's the connection," I said, nodding at the look in his eyes.

He looked down again and pointed at another boy in the photo. "That's Peter Sweeney," he said.

I frowned, "Peter Sweeney's spirit wasn't tied to Bill Carlton, it was tied to the Sheriff? Why kill Carlton's kids?" I asked.

"No!" Cole said impatiently. "It was to Carlton and to the Sheriff. They both had to have something to do with his disappearance." She glanced back down at the photo, frowning.

"Yeah, Chris Barr's drowning," Dean said, glancing sympathetically at Andrea. "It was a connection to them both, they were both involved with Peter."

"Wait, what about Chris?" Andrea asked, looking up startled. "My...my Dad? What are you talking about?"

Lucas had appeared in the kitchen and was staring out the window. Dean and Cole were closest, and they turned to look at him. "Lucas?" Dean asked, taking a step toward the boy. "Lucas what is it?" He asked again.

The boy didn't answer, instead he opened the door and ran away. I saw the panic cross Dean's face a split second before he chased after Lucas.

Lucas slowed down as he ran toward the lake, then veered off to a section of the woods. He stopped short in front of a mossy patch of grass, staring. He looked up at Dean and there was an understanding that passed between them, Dean swallowed and nodded. "Andrea, you and look should get back into the house and stay there okay?" Dean said. She looked concerned but didn't argue, taking Lucas by the arm and pulling him away.

Cole and I exchanged a look and headed to the Impala. It was time for shovels. I just hoped we had time to get it all done before darkness fell altogether.

"Is it wrong for me to be thankful there's only two shovels?" Cole asked with a grin. I chuckled and shook my head.

"At least it's not night time and a graveyard," I said with a laugh. It was two of the things I hated most. We were back with John and Dean within minutes, and I silently handed the shovel I was carrying to Dean – I had no intention of straining myself with any digging – I was supposed to be on light duties! Dean took the shovel without any complaint, smiling at me.

With a deep breath and glance up at his father, Dean started to dig, and Cole joined him. The ground was soft like a marshmallow after the recent rain, they made good progress. Unexpectedly Dean's shovel hit something that sounded like metal, he looked up at Cole, a grim expression on his face before stepping back to assess the situation.

I moved forward with John and we cleared a bit of dirt from around the item. It was a bar of some sort. Cole reached out for it when I stood back, but John stopped her with a touch of his hand. "Let us," he said quietly, stepping up to pull her away from the find. Together, he and Dean took a hold of the bar and pulled.

"Peter's bike..." Cole said softly when we saw what we'd discovered. I moved up beside her and looked at the bike in front of us. Cole tensed beside me and I heard the distinct click of a gun being cocked behind us. I froze, as did we all, my eyes meeting Dean's. He looked like he was ready to kill.

"Put the gun down Jake," he said, his voice low and threatening.

"How the Hell did you know that was there?" Devins asked, looking at the bike.

"You can't bury the truth, Jake," John said. "Nothing stays buried."

"I don't know what the Hell you're talking about," Devins snapped.

John looked furious. "You and Bill killed Peter Sweeney thirty-five years ago. That's what the Hell I'm talking about. And now you have one seriously pissed off spirit," John said, he was edging closer to the Sheriff, but unable to put himself between us and the gun without making it obvious.

"Dad!" Andrea's voice called out from behind the Sheriff. She ran up and started at him. Cole took a step toward Devins when his attention was drawn away from us, but he saw it from the corner of his eye, swinging back to face us, the barrel of his gun pointed directly at her chest. She froze, hands in the air.

"It's gonna take Andrea," Dean said, drawing his attention. "Lucas... and everyone you love. It's gonna drown them and it's gonna drag their bodies God knows where, so that you can feel the same pain Peter's mom felt. And then after that, it's gonna take you. And it's not gonna stop until it does." He was watching Devins, eyes carefully trained on him.

"Oh really? And how do you know that?" Devins asked, glaring at him.

"Because that is exactly what it did to Bill Carlton," Dean answered simply.

Devins looked at us in disbelief, shaking his head. "Listen to yourselves. All of you are insane!"

"I don't really give a rat's ass what you think of us, but if we're gonna bring down this spirit, we need to find the remains, salt them and burn them to dust," Dean said with a quietness that belied the rage simmering beneath his eyes.

"Please tell me you buried Peter somewhere? That you didn't just let his body go into the lake?" John asked with a frown.

"Dad, is any of this true?" Andrea asked.

"No, don't listen to them. They are liars and they're dangerous," Devins said and I looked him incredulously.

"Something tried to drown me. Chris died in that lake! Dad look at me!" Andrea said strongly, walking over to face him. "Please tell me you didn't kill anyone," she said again. Devins was unable to look at her, the guilt clear in his eyes. "Oh my God!" She exclaimed, seeing it as well. Jake lowered his gun and I said a silent prayer of thanks, moving slowly toward Dean who reached out for me, stepping between Devins and myself when I got close enough.

"Billy and I, we were at the lake. Peter was the smallest and we always bullied him," Devins said sadly, pausing to get his thoughts together. "This time it got rough. We were holding his head under water. We didn't mean to. But we held him under too long and he drowned."

I swallowed, thinking about how horrible it would have been for a kid to die that way.

"We let the body go. And it sank," Devins said to John, who exchanged a frustrated look with Dean. He turned toward his daughter, beseeching her. "Andrea, we were kids, it was a mistake. But to say that I had anything to do with these drownings, with Chris. Because of some ghost? It's just not rational."

"All right, listen to me, all of you," John said suddenly, taking the lead as he always did. "We have to get you as far away from this lake as we can. Right now!" His tone was definitive, there would be no arguing with him. This time I happened to agree with him.

Andrea turned her gaze away from us and gasped. We all looked over and saw Lucas on the dock.

"Lucas!" Devins yelled, Dean started running for the dock, the rest of us following behind him. The boy fell into the water with a cry and John and Dean were in the water not thirty seconds later. Cole, Andrea and I reached the edge of the pier. Andrea looked like she was going to jump into the water, which was a bad idea, and probably exactly what the spirit wanted.

Cole grabbed her arm. "No! Andrea you need to stay on this dock," she said.

"But Lucas! No that's my son!" Andrea screamed, trying to pull her arm out of Cole's grip. I put my arm around her from the other side, holding her to me.

"They'll get him, we just need to stay on the dock," I said, and she stopped fighting, tears running down her face.

Dean's head broke the surface and he looked around wildly when John resurfaced. "Dad, anything?!" Dean yelled and John shook his head. They dove again while we waited breathlessly on the dock.

I saw Dean's head come out of the water again. "Anything?" I called out to him. He looked over and shook his head. Suddenly he was pulled under, and then broke the surface kicking and gasping for air before being pulled under again.

"Dean!" I screamed, watching as he was dragged under the water. I let go of Andrea and shrugged out of my jacket, ignoring the pain in my shoulder. Cole grabbed me and shook me hard.

"What the Hell are you doing?!" She asked me sharply and I looked anxiously out to the water. "Beth, you can't go in there!"

"Like Hell I can't! It's Dean!" I said, pulling free of her.

"I'll go," Cole said, pulling off her jacket and shoes. "You're still injured, you definitely aren't going in there!" With a glare she dove into the lake, coming up several yards out and swimming toward where Dean had gone under.

The Sheriff suddenly waded out into the water, calling out to the spirit. "Peter, if you can hear me...please, Peter, I'm sorry. I'm so—I'm so sorry." Devins said.

"Daddy, no!" Andrea called out, seeing her father in the water.

"Peter. Lucas – he's, he's just a little boy. Please it's not his fault, it's mine. Please take me!" Devins said. I stared in horror, but my mind was on Dean.

John broke the surface of the water. He had Lucas in his arms and was swimming toward the shore. "What are you doing?!" John yelled when he saw Cole in the water.

"Dean! He's been pulled under, Sweeney has him!" Cole yelled. John looked about urgently, handing the boy to Cole as she reached him.

"Where?!" He yelled at me and I pointed toward the section of water.

"Your left! Twenty feet!" I called back to him. He nodded, looking at Cole.

"Get out of the water and stay there! That's an order!" He yelled at her. "Jake, get out of the water!" And then he started swimming toward Dean's last location.

It had been too long, way too long. I couldn't hear anything other than the blood rushing in my ears. I fell to my knees, whispering a silent prayer to the angels, and whoever else was listening.

Cole reached the dock and together Andrea and I pulled Lucas out of the water. He was coughing up water and looking scared and shaken. Cole followed, looking like a drowned cat and checked his vitals.

The rough wood under my knees was biting into my knees, but I didn't move. I clung to the post in front of me, praying for a miracle. I couldn't lose him after all we had been through to get this far. I choked back a sob as I mentally counted the minutes he had been under the water.

Suddenly the Sheriff was pulled under the water, the Spirit claiming his prey. I gasped at the speed in which this had all happened, he had been there one moment, gone the next. I reminded myself that Dean would fight, he wouldn't go willingly.

The surface of the lake broke once more and John gasped for air, his arm wrapped around Dean's neck as he pulled his head out of the water.

"Oh god!" I whimpered, watching as John swam them toward us.

As John reached the dock, Cole reached over the edge and grabbed Dean by his shirt, lifting up with a mighty groan. I took a handhold and together we pulled him over the edge, rolling him on to his side. He was cold, his skin grey. Cole cleared his airways as I leaned over him, talking to him.

"Dean! Dean don't you leave me, open your eyes! Don't you leave me!" I said with a sob, barely a whisper. Cole felt for his pulse as I reached into my pocket for the phone. We needed help, now. I couldn't help it, the reality of what had just happened started to settle in around me like a cold blanket.

"No. Oh God no," Cole said. I dialled 911, sobbing as I watched Dean's face before me. My body had gone numb, and I was shaking uncontrollably as John climbed out of the water, coming to stand with us. "Oh god! Oh god, god, oh god!" I kept rambling into the phone, but I couldn't stop myself, even when the dispatcher came on the line.

"Beth. Dammit Beth listen to me!" Cole said sharply to me, her words jolting me back into my body. "We can get him back but I need you to hold it together!"

I looked into her eyes, the words on the other end of the phone calling me back to myself. I nodded, silent tears running down my cheeks. "Yeah... uh we need an ambulance right away, my brother was in the lake, he's not breathing and has no pulse," I stated. I gave our address and started to rock while kneeling beside Dean.

Cole grabbed the phone from my hands and gave it to Andrea. "Tell them I have a 23 year old male, approximately 160 – 200 pounds. Not breathing and no pulse. CPR has been started!" She instructed.

"Now you!" She said, turning urgent and angry eyes to me. "Breathe for him! Got it?" I nodded, feeling the shock seep into my bones. I could do this, I could breathe. I leaned down, taking Dean's chin in hand, my other hand over his forehead as I pulled back my sobs, catching my breath.

Cole started compressions and there was the sickening sound of ribs cracking as she put pressure on his heart. I blocked it out, my mind only on the sensations of Dean's mouth under mine. I fought back my sobs as I breathed to the count of Cole's compressions. I tried not to think about how different things had been this morning on the banks of the lake, his lips warm and soft, not cold like they were now.

It seemed like a lifetime before the paramedics arrived, Cole was still going strong on the compressions, stubbornly refusing to give up on Dean. I felt myself being pulled back by John as they put a mask over his face.

"I've got a twenty-three year old male approximately two hundred pounds, drowning victim, was under approximately five minutes. We've been doing CPR, so far no response." Cole blurted out at one of the paramedics.

"And you are?" The paramedics said to her as they cut open Dean's shirts, baring his chest and drying it off with a towel. They attached some leads to his chest and I allowed John to hold me against him while we watched on in horror.

"Nicole Singer, RN at Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in the ER," she replied. The other paramedic tried to pull her away but she fought them off like a tiger. "Back off man, I'm not ready for a break yet, he's my goddamn brother!" She snapped.

Finally Dean was transferred to the stretch and maybe something in transferring him shocked his system, maybe the CPR had worked, maybe it was a miracle from God, but I almost fell to my knees when he moved and coughed up a lung full of water, gasping for air.

"Dean!" I called out, moving toward him, but John's arms prevented me and held me close. They rolled Dean on to his side and I watched, bursting into fresh tears as he coughed up more water. "Thank you, thank you... thank you..." I said in prayers of gratitude, unable to stop the tears as I watched him come back to life before my very eyes. I moved to the side of the stretcher, hovering close but staying out of the way of the paramedic. A couple of times I caught Dean's gaze and when he saw me he smiled. It was short-lived, he was fading in and out of consciousness as the paramedics worked on him.

"All right we're ready to move him to the hospital," one of the paramedics said. "One of you can ride with him." I looked up desperately at John and he glanced over at Cole. The pair of them were soaking wet. I was bad enough, feeling patches of water where he'd held me against him earlier.

"Beth, go with him," John said quietly and I breathed a sigh of relief. "We'll be along once we're changed."

I climbed into the ambulance before he could change his mind, and I grabbed Dean's hand, clasping it between my own as the doors were shut on us. Dean opened his eyes and looked at me, his hazel eyes looked weary and unfocused and he squeezed the hand I had holding his.

"Hey..." he said, licking his lips and forcing a smile.

"God Dean!" I said, leaning as close as I could to him. "You scared me to death."

"Pay-back's a bitch," he said with a chuckle and he pulled me closer, kissing me.

"Don't ever do that to me again..." I said, tears in my eyes. He gave me an anguished look and nodded.

"Ditto," he said quietly, closing his eyes.

"He needs to rest," the paramedic said pointedly and I nodded, but I didn't move. Dean smiled, as he felt my hand on his arm, touching him, just reassuring myself that he was all right, that he was alive.

"Don't leave me," I whispered to him.

"Never," he replied quietly as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_**Hospital**_

**Beth's POV**_**  
**_

Every part of my body hurt, I was chilled to the bone and felt like I wanted to pass out. When we arrived at the hospital I was quickly pulled away from Dean as they took him into the emergency room and examined him. It was too crowded, the noise from the people causing me to feel dizzy and confused. I had to get away, just for a moment. I found my way to the chapel and I sank into a pew, kneeling as I leaned heavily on the seat in front. Prayers of gratitude fell from my lips as I felt the comfort of the chapel close in around me like a soft cocoon.

"Beth?" Andrea's voice startled me out of my revelry. I turned around to see the woman standing at the back of the chapel, looking tentatively at me.

"Hi," I said, pushing myself up to a seated position, I forced a smile to my mouth.

"Are you all right?" She asked, looking at me with concern.

"Yeah... yeah. Just, well you know. It's been a big day, and I'm still recovering from my own injuries too." I answered.

She nodded at me, looking around the chapel at the statues and flowers on the altar at the front.

"Dean said I would find you here," she said. I smiled and nodded.

"Well, he would know. Is he okay?" I asked, standing up.

"Yeah, yeah he's fine, they've just moved him to a room and he didn't want you coming to the ER to find him," she smiled. I glanced around, looking for a clock, _how long had I been up here?_

"Oh, okay," I said, moving toward the door. I shook my head to clear it, and followed Andrea to the room where Dean was now sitting up in bed, looking his normal self. Lucas was sitting with him, chattering away about whatever he was drawing, smiling like an ordinary little boy.

"All right, if you're gonna be talking now, this is a very important phrase, so I want you to repeat it one more time," Dean said to Lucas, who looked at him intently.

"Zeppelin rules!" Lucas cried out and Dean laughed.

"That's right. Up high!" He said, holding his hand out, Lucas slapped his palm against Dean's and grinned. I smiled watching them joke together.

Dean shot me a smile when he saw me standing there. I smiled in return, relief flooding my face once again when I saw he was alive and well; I moved to stand at the side of his bed. I wanted nothing more than to throw myself into his arms, but I couldn't. I looked over at John, standing against the wall in the room, looking pensive and dark.

"Are you okay?" I asked Dean quietly, looking him over. He nodded, smiling at me.

"Where's your Dad?" Dean asked Andrea, and she bit her lip.

"He didn't make it," Cole said quietly from where she was sitting in the chair. Andrea nodded, and looked at Dean sadly.

"God... I'm sorry," Dean said to her, frowning.

"Yeah, me too. But...you saved my son. I can't ask for more than that. Dad loved me. He loved Lucas. No matter what he did, I just have to hold on to that." Andrea said.

We all nodded and Andrea started to look anxious. "Come on Lucas, it's time to go home," she said. She looked over at John and Cole, smiling. "Thank you, for everything. I'm glad you're okay," this last part she said to Dean who nodded.

"You take care of your mom, okay?" Dean said to Lucas who nodded profusely.

"Thank you," Andrea said again, resting her hand on my arm. She leaned in to hug me and smiled as she pulled back. "Don't let him go," she said softly with a wink. I smiled and shook my head.

Cole left with them, excusing herself because she needed some air. I moved around to the other side of the bed, sinking gratefully into her vacated chair. I was exhausted.

"Okay, well it's getting late," John said, looking at me. I raised an eyebrow at him and smirked. "I presume you're staying?" He asked, looking at me wearily. I nodded and he shook his head. "Have it your way, I'll be at the motel getting a _decent night's sleep." _He said with a chuckle. I almost laughed. Sleep was probably going to be the last thing he was getting when Cole got a hold of him.

"Get some rest," John said as he left the room.

Dean looked at me and chuckled. "Alone at last," he said suggestively and it made me laugh.

"Yeah, fat lot of good that's going to do us," I said with a grin, standing up and kissing him fully, my tongue circling his as I sought to determine just how badly this near-death experience had effected him.

"Come on," Dean said when I was through exploring his mouth and nibbling on his bottom lip. "You look exhausted, time for bed... and no on-call room either!" I laughed and moved to shut the door to the room.

Dean lay down on his side, waiting for me to kick off my shoes. John had brought Dean's bag up from the car. I was still partly wet from him grabbing me earlier, so I took a moment to search through Dean's bag, pulling out a t-shirt and putting it on. The sweatpants were too big for me, but I slipped into them anyway because they were dry. I pulled the string at the waist tight and tied it.

"Great, now I'm going to start losing my pants too..." Dean muttered, watching me in the semi-dark of the room. I chuckled, and shook my head.

"Well I might let you keep something," I said, climbing on to the bed with him. I rolled to face out, and Dean slid the side railing into place behind him while I did the same. He groaned a little as he settled in behind me and I remembered the broken ribs.

"God, we have had the worst run of luck," I said with a tiny laugh. "Now your ribs are broken too..." I said.

"Yep, I see a lot more chick flick movies in our future and _very little else." _Dean said with a sad sigh.

"Well...if we can manage to live through next week, maybe things will start to look up?" I said, leaning back a little so I could turn my head and look at him.

"Sounds like a plan," he said with a grin, kissing my cheek. "And you know how I love it when a plan comes together." He nuzzled into my neck, licking and rubbing his five-o'clock shadow against the soft skin. I shivered at the touch, moaning softly.

"Get some sleep sugarpie," he said softly, settling back into the pillow and sliding his arm around my waist. Pretty soon sleep claimed us.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
**__**3 days later**_

**John's POV**

I sat in the darkened motel room nursing a beer as I watched the scene before me. More and more I'd been noticing the little things, but not until three nights ago at the hospital had it really hit me just how blind I had been. I'd left Dean and Beth in the hospital room, intending to go down and take Nicole back to the motel. Instead she'd thrown me a curve ball, and wanted to leave us, return to her work... leave me.

I'd returned to Dean's room to tell them I was going to drive Nicole back to Ohio only to find the door closed. Upon entering they'd been curled up on the hospital bed fast asleep. It wasn't unusual for them to sleep in the same bed, but something about the way Dean held Beth, the peaceful looks on their faces – it helped me see something I'd been denying for some time.

That's when all the different moments that had seemed just a little out from the others started to flash before my eyes. The little escapades into the woods jogging, the extra hours training, Dean freaking out when she'd been thrown out the window and then refusing to leave the hospital, Beth telling me she had a secret that would change everything. I'd thought she'd meant Nicole and me when I found out she knew about us, but then I heard Beth begging Dean not to leave her on the docks, the panic that had been in her eyes – more than the love of a sister. They'd hidden it pretty well, but I'd also been distracted, probably more that I was in denial.

I sighed, watching them before me now. Dean had started the night off on the couch, but when I woke up to use the bathroom half an hour ago, I'd found him wrapped around Beth in bed, just as they'd been at the hospital. Now I had a decision to make. They'd behaved exceptionally well, hell, if I wanted to really admit it, they were probably more professional the last job than I had been.

My heart ached to look at them, all these years I'd been denying them the opportunity to explore any kind of feelings they might have for each other. They'd been there for a long time, I knew that – probably since I'd made them promise not to do it, which had been five years ago. I watched them now, wrapped in a fond embrace, and I sighed. How had I gotten things so wrong? Beth rolled over in her sleep, her face coming to rest against Dean's shoulder and she smiled, a little sigh escaping her lips. It made me smile to see them happy like this. I took my beer and stood up, moving silently toward the door. I pulled myself up on the trunk of the Impala, my beer dangling from my fingers as I stared into the night, contemplating all my new realisations.

Life had just gotten a lot more complicated. I'd dropped Nicole in Ohio to pick up her car, and just as I thought I was going to let things end, fade away to the nothing from which they'd come, she'd surprised me, her declaration of love and need for me unseating a long lost desire to have something more than this vendetta. To make something more for our lives.

"_This isn't over," _I'd said to Nicole. "_it will never be over for me." _I'd held her, mine, my own, and known in that moment that regardless of where the hunt took us, we would always find our way back to each other. Yes, we had to be apart for now, we had different goals, but we accepted that, and life would never be the same for it.

I thought about all the other changes that were occurring. Sam going to college, and now Dean and Beth, and I knew I had to say something. I had to talk to them. But it could wait until morning.

The motel door opened behind me and I knew without looking that it was Beth. She moved with a silent grace that Dean never bothered with. She hesitated on the threshold of the door until I glanced back at her. She saw the look and moved forward, pulling on a jacket as she came to join me on the back of the car, leaning against me in a companionable silence.

I looked over at her, taking another drink from my beer, and swallowing it down. "I never wanted this life for them," I said quietly, watching her as she looked down at her hands.

"I know," she said quietly. "They know that too."

"Do they?" I asked, because I wasn't so sure. They'd never really known anything else, how could they possibly know the hopes and dreams I'd held for them both, for all three of them? I'd never told them, because it was easier not to, and keep them safely tied to me. I thought of Patrick, and sighed. "And you, what kind of life did your Dad want for you? Have I let him down, bringing you with us?" I asked.

Beth glanced over at me, a slight shake of her head settling her brown locks around her face and shoulders. "You did what had to be done. Lord knows it wasn't easy for you. You already had two boys... you didn't need a daughter to complicate the situation," Beth replied.

I smiled at that, patting her knee a couple of times. "I always wanted a daughter," I said with a sad smile. "So did Mary."

Beth smiled back at me and it made me think of the young woman I'd found that fateful winter day, locked in a devil's trap, locked inside her own body.

"Do you ever want something else? Like Sam?" I asked her, watching her like a hawk.

"No," she said quickly, not even hesitating. I was surprised, surely she wanted a life away from hunting? A family of her own? "My place is here with you, and Dean," she said simply. "I want no other life."

Dean. There it was, she had just told me what she wanted more than anything else. The one thing I'd been denying them all these years. I glanced back at the motel room door, thinking about my son asleep in the bed that she'd just left. Didn't he deserve something more, a little happiness, with all the heartache he had endured? Didn't they both deserve a chance at happiness?

"You're a grown woman now Beth," I said, smiling at her, my heart over-spilling with the pride I felt in seeing her grow into an incredible young lady, strong, independent, faithful, loyal and compassionate. "I'm proud of you, of who you've become."

"Thanks," she said with a smile, a slight blush creeping into her cheeks.

"Dean..." I said, not sure where to start. She glanced up at me sharply, her face becoming guarded and wary.

"He's not your brother, you know that right?" I asked, watching her.

She nodded. "I know..." she said, and I saw the rejection there, the secret fear that she would never be one of us, that she wasn't one of us already. That wasn't what I'd meant to bring up in her, and I scrambled to clarify my meaning.

"No. No, I didn't mean it that way Beth," I said quickly. I let out a breath I hadn't even realised I was holding and slid off the back of the car, turning to look at her as I took her hands in mine.

"You will _always _be my daughter Beth. Nothing will change that. But Dean...he's _not your brother." _I said. She seemed to be contemplating what I was saying. I realised that I'd been so vague about things I really needed to spell it out now, so that she had no worries.

"I'm not blind Beth. I see how you both feel about each other. I won't say I'm not concerned, but only because I don't want either of you to get hurt. When you were teenagers... well hormones take over. But now, I've seen you both grow with each other, and you've both done your best to live by my rules on it." I paused, looking at her. She took in a deep breath, frozen at what I'd just said.

"You've both sacrificed a normal life to this world," I continued, squeezing her hands. "The least I can do is not stand in the way of what little comfort you can find in each other." I finished and Beth looked like she was in shock.

She opened and closed her mouth several times, looking for the life of her like she didn't know what to say to that. I chuckled, it was so cute to watch the reaction.

"Just don't go all mushy lovesick on me... the pair of you have to be able to do your jobs!" I reprimanded her, because frankly, it was true – and it wouldn't be me if I didn't pull them up on something. She nodded quickly, grabbing me and pulling me into a big hug.

"Thanks Dad," she said, kissing me on the cheek. I smiled at the sound of the name. She'd started calling me that shortly after her sixteenth birthday, and I'd never corrected her. I liked it, and I saw her as my own now, she always would be my beautiful baby girl, she completed our family, she made it better.

She moved to get off the car and I helped her slide to her feet, gritting her teeth against a slight twinge of pain.

Dean woke up with a start when we walked into the room. "Huh? What?" He muttered as his eyes adjusted to the dark and he saw me standing at the edge of the bed with Beth. "Dad!" He exclaimed. I sighed internally at the look of fear he gave me when he realised I'd just busted him in Beth's bed. There was nothing I could do to undo the drill sergeant routine I'd put on him. He would always have that fear of making a mistake with me, and I knew I hadn't helped with that.

He started to sit up in bed, but I reached forward and pushed him back against the pillow. "Go back to sleep Dean," I said quietly, taking off my jacket and shoes, and climbing into bed. I turned my back to the pair of them with a long sigh and settled in for some sleep.

I heard Beth shrug out of her own jacket and it hit the floor with a soft thud. There was the sound of her moving under the sheets and blanket of the bed she was now sharing with Dean, and then her soft voice echoed what I'd just told my son.

"Go back to sleep Dean," she said softly.

"What the Hell...?" Dean muttered, and I had to stifle a laugh.

When I turned back around, re-adjusting my position in bed, they'd both fallen asleep again, Dean with his arm wrapped around Beth while she slept with her face up to his chest, a tiny smile at her mouth. One day I could let them go, I would encourage them to get out of the life, find a home for themselves, maybe even start a family if that's what they wanted. But for now, they at least had each other, and I had them, and we were a family. Everything else could just take a backseat for a little while.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter is:_ Resolution _by Matt Corby

* * *

I'm going to be starting the X-files tomorrow, which is basically a compilation of all the sexy Dean and Beth moments from the last three Seasons. I'm just being completely voyeuristic and would like them all in the one place too!

* * *

Is anyone interested in my doing a _Chronicles of Jefferson_ ? Because he's going to have a few little stories to tell once we hit Season 4 in particular about things he knows from Beth's past, particularly around her mother! Plus, there will just be moments when I bring him in for a particular story where I need a guy and Dean & Sam won't work. Just wondering if you want him to stay featured here, or get his own little story with the occasional chapter?

* * *

I've also been doing a lot of writing around stories for the end of Season 3 / start of Season 4. A lot of backstory will be getting told in the early stages of Season 4. Just wondering if there's anything in particular people would like to see? I can't guarantee it'll be incorporated, but I'm happy to try if inspiration takes. I've asked long-time readers in the past about this, and some people stated they'd like to see some of Sam and Beth's journey in the four months Dean is in Hell, this will definitely be covered in several chapters, and a lot of it is already written! Please make any other suggestions you feel as well.

* * *

Shout out to _The A Team _by the way with Dean's last comment about plans :) Gotta love the A Team!

* * *

Next up is _Fresh Blood_

* * *

Please leave a review, you know I love them! Mahalo :)


	13. Fresh Blood

_You can't quit until you try__**  
**__You can't live until you die__**  
**__You can't learn to tell the truth__**  
**__Until you learn to lie_

_You can't breathe until you choke__**  
**__You gotta laugh when you're the joke__**  
**__There's nothing like a funeral to make you feel alive_

_Just open your eyes__**  
**__Just open your eyes__**  
**__And see that life is beautiful.__**  
**__Will you swear on your life,__**  
**__That no one will cry at my funeral?_

_I know some things that you don't__**  
**__I've done things that you won't__**  
**__There's nothing like a trail of blood to find your way back home_

_I was waiting for my hearse_

_What came next was so much worse__**  
**__It took a funeral to make me feel alive_

* * *

**FRESH BLOOD**

* * *

_**Sioux Falls  
Bobby's House**_

_**- 7.5 years ago -**_

"_Oh God," I muttered at the scene before us. Sam voiced his agreement, looking in great distaste at the row of dead pigs hanging from the ceiling. "You're joking, right?" I asked, looking over at John. He smirked and shook his head, handing out machetes to us._

"_One day you're going to have to know how to correctly and efficiently decapitate some creature. It's not as easy as it sounds, nor is it impossible," he said, looking at each of us in turn. _

_We'd finally graduated from using the wooden sticks John had been training us with to fully sharpened machetes and so far none of us had lost a limb, or any other important piece of appendage; of course, I was starting to wonder if that was just a matter of time._

"_The key to a successful decapitation is accuracy, so learn your weapon, I want you to live, eat and breathe your machetes over the next two weeks. Carry it with you, practice together, we've set up targets which Bobby will show you to work on your accuracy but won't damage your blade." He looked at us all to ensure we were taking it all in. We nodded._

"_You won't always have the opportunity, but beheading from the rear is best. The brunt of your attack will be stopped by the spine, so it is best if you get through the bone first. If you attack from the front, the attack will be slowed by the flesh and having to cut through muscle and veins. Once you hit bone, it'll most likely stop your attack altogether. So if you can, attack from behind because a half decapitation is disgusting." I gulped, struggling to keep my breakfast down. The whole idea was disgusting!_

_I felt a hand placed at my lower back and looked over to see Dean casually standing next to me, watching his father with an expression akin to amused horror. Sam huffed and crossed his arms. "Dad, why do we have to know this?" He asked, ever the questioner. John sighed and looked at him. _

"_You never know what you're going to come up against out in the supernatural world, I want you kids prepared, for any eventuality." He said. Cole nodded, looking like she was rearing to go. I shook my head at her, wondering how she could do it. I reached behind my back and took Dean's hand in my own; he squeezed back in an unspoken reassurance. There was no getting out of this; I just had to use his strength to carry me through. It didn't make me feel any less sick._

* * *

_**Albany, **__**New York**_

_**- Present Day -**_

The machete felt good in my hand, like a long lost friend. We hadn't had to use them much lately. Heck, a few years ago we barely used them at all, even though we'd been trained in them. Then we'd learned about vampires, they were very much real, and out there in the night attacking innocent people. I stared down at the blade shining under the street light and smirked. _Who knew?_

The metallic smell of blood pierced the night's air and I looked down, shining my flashlight around at the ground. A pool of blood trickled out from near a dumpster and Sam ran ahead to find a man lying in the middle of it. He had a gaping wound in his neck and was spluttering for help.

"Hey, hey, don't worry," Sam said. "We're gonna call you some help, okay?"

"Where is she?" Dean asked urgently, pushing in behind Sam. "Where'd she go?!"

The man pointed weakly down the alley and Dean looked up, meeting my eyes. I nodded silently to him and together we started to jog down the alley leaving Sam to attend to the man. We wound our way through the alley and a couple of back passages until we found ourselves in a loading dock. There was no one about.

Dean stopped, pulling back the sleeve to his shirt and raising the machete to his arm.

"Wait, wait, what are you doing?" I asked, looking at him, my hand on his arm stopping the blade.

"It'll bring her right to us," he answered, looking me in the eyes. I paused, watching him, and decided it wasn't actually too bad a plan. I nodded. "Back me up," he said, nodding toward a loading platform twenty feet away where I'd be hidden in the dark, provided the vampire didn't pick up my scent. Somehow it seemed she'd be more focused on the blood being shed than me.

I nodded and scooted over to the platform, pulling myself up where I had a good view of the loading area. I crouched in the darkness and waited while Dean drew the blade across his forearm, his blood starting to trickle down his arm as he held it up.

"Smell that?!" Dean yelled to the darkness. "Come and get it!"

There was a noise to my left and then a young woman walked out from a side alley, staring at Dean. She looked rabid, blood dripping down her chin.

Dean smirked and nodded. "That's right. Come on. I smell good, don't I?" He raised an eyebrow as she took a step toward him. "I taste even better." She took a few more steps forward, approaching Dean cautiously. I balanced on the balls of my feet, ready to spring the six feet down if needed to back him up.

She moved toward him, hesitating at the sight of the machete. Dean smirked and dropped it to the pavement which had me on my feet instantly. _What was he playing at? _I jumped down to the ground just as he looked at the vampire and encouraged her forward. "Come on!" He said. "Free lunch!"

The vampire charged at him, grabbing his shirt as I sprinted to close the gap. She bit him on the neck, and at the same time Dean whipped out a syringe and plunged it into her neck, emptying the contents into her. I grabbed at her hair, yanking back on her head and pulling her away from Dean as he grimaced, grabbing his neck. The vampire convulsed and a couple of times before falling to the ground unconscious.

"Whoo!" Dean exclaimed, looking up at me, and then frowned at the exasperated look I tossed his way. "What?" He asked, touching his neck again.

I sighed, pulling out a cloth from my jacket and moving up to gently hold it against his neck while he chuckled, catching his breath.

"Cutting it a little close, don't you think?" I asked evenly, looking into his hazel eyes. They were fired up and excited. Dean slid his hands around me, pulling him to me and nuzzling his way into my neck.

"Eh... that's just chum in the water, I'm fine. Worked, didn't it?" He said as he kissed his way up to my lips. I pulled back, taking the cloth away from his neck and assessing the damage, wasn't more than a nick, but just the same, it had been close.

"Yeah I guess," I said. Dean was examining his arm with a grimace, I sighed again and put the cloth against the cut, getting him to elevate the limb. Sam came running up and looked troubled when he saw the bite on Dean's neck.

"Cut that a little close didn't you?" He asked, frowning at me.

"Yeah... he did," I said, glancing up at Sam. We'd both been noticing Dean's growing recklessness with the hunt lately and it had been more and more worrisome.

"Guys, come on, it worked, I'm fine, let's get this thing to the motel all right?" Dean said, shrugging. I looked at Sam and shrugged.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
- Present Day -**_

Sam finished tying the girl to the chair and we waited. After a few moments she started to shake her head. When she looked up at the two men standing over her, panic flared into her eyes.

"You with us?" Dean asked shortly, peering down at her. She struggled against the bonds holding her, short breaths coming fast and laboured. "Oh, yeah, sorry. You're not going anywhere," he added with an amused smile.

"Where's your nest?" Sam asked firmly.

"What?" She gasped, looking confused.

"Your nest!" Dean snapped. "Where you and your bloodsucking pals hang out." His eyes were full of irritation and he looked like he was getting ready to snap.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said softly, Dean rolled his eyes and looked over at me. I pushed myself off the wall I'd been leaning against and came over to look at her, frowning. She looked up at me, seeing that I was a woman and her eyes became desperate. "Please! I don't feel good."

"Yeah, well, you're gonna feel a hell of a lot worse if we give you another shot of dead man's blood," Sam said from beside me, and Dean waved a syringe in front of her.

She looked panicked and shook her head. "Just let me go."

"Yeah, sorry, you know we can't do that," I said to her.

"I'm telling you the truth," she said and Dean turned away with a snort. She looked at me again. "I'm just... I took something. I'm freaking out! I don't know what's going on!"

We all paused, and I crouched down in front of her, assessing her eyes. "You took something?" I asked.

"Yes!" She said, her breath coming fast and erratically. I glanced up at Dean and then Sam. They were both frowning, this really didn't sound good. "I can't...come down. I just want to come down!"

"What's your name?" Sam asked, his voice taking a slightly less antagonistic tone.

"Lucy," she said. "Please, just let me go."

"All right, Lucy, how about this? If you tell us what happened, we'll let you go," I said to her. I knew it was a lie, but she didn't need to know that.

"You will?" She asked, hopeful. I nodded, standing back up. She looked at Sam standing beside me and he nodded too. Dean had walked behind her and was sending us confused looks.

Lucy settled down a little. "Uh, I don't really … um, it's not that clear. I was at Spider."

"Spider?" Dean asked, walking back around to face her.

"The club on Jefferson," she said. "And there was this guy...he was buying me drinks."

"This guy...what's he look like?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"He was old, like thirty?" She said. I smirked, looking at Dean who managed to look offended at the fact that he himself was staring down the barrel of the big two-nine in a few months' time. I swallowed, the realisation starting to hit me that he would be dead before he even turned thirty. He saw the look in my eyes and I pushed it deep behind my mask, locking it away.

"He had brown hair, a leather jacket... Deacon or Dixon or something," she continued, shaking her head. "Said he was a dealer... he had something for me."

"Something?" Sam asked, looking at her curiously.

"Something new. 'Better than anything you've ever tried before'. He put a few drops in my drink," she said, looking at me.

I gulped and ran a hand across my face in resignation. What on earth were they going to think of next? "Was the drug red and thick?" I asked, looking at her. She nodded.

Dean let out a frustrated noise and started pacing behind her. "Well, genius move there. That was vampire blood he dosed you with!"

"What?" Lucy asked incredulously.

"Yeah, you just took a big steaming shot of the nastiest virus out there," Dean said.

"You're crazy! He gave me roofies or something! No..." She swung around to look at Sam and me. "The next thing I know, we're at his place, and he says he's gonna get me something to eat, just wait. But I get _so hungry!_"

"So you busted out?" Sam said. Lucy nodded, the panicked look returning to her eyes.

"But it won't wear off... whatever he gave me?" She swallowed, looking desperately between us.

"Lights too bright?" Dean asked. "Sunshine hurt your skin?" He resumed pacing, shaking his head.

"Yeah...and smells," she said. "And I can... hear blood pumping."

"I hate to tell you this, sweetheart, but your blood's never pumping again," Dean said unsympathetically to her. She frowned and looked at him, shaking her head, her long blond curls swimming around her face.

"Not mine... yours. I can hear a heart beating from half a block away," she said, tears in her eyes. "I just want it to stop."

"Lucy," I said gently, crouching down again. "It's not going to stop. You've already killed two people...almost three."

"No, I couldn't!" She said, shaking her head in denial. "I was hallucinating!"

"You killed them! All right?" Dean snapped, his voice rising. "We've been following a sloppy trail of corpses, and it leads straight to you."

"No. No, it wasn't real! It was the drug! Please!" She begged. I looked up at Sam, his eyes were starting to look doubtful. He inclined his head toward me and I stood up.

"Please!" Lucy pleaded, looking at Dean. "Please, you have to help me!" Sam jerked his head at Dean and we all went into the bathroom, ignoring the girl calling out to us.

I ran a hand through my hair, looking between the boys. Sam sighed.

"Poor girl," he said, shaking his head.

Dean looked over at the girl tied to the chair and sighed. "We don't have a choice." He said, looking from Sam to me. I bit my lip, this part of the job always sucked. I exchanged a look with him and my mouth twitched as I shook my head sadly. Sam nodded and we all re-entered the room while Lucy looked on.

"Please! You have to help me." She begged, looking at us. I inclined my head to Dean, and crouched in front of Lucy, looking her in the eyes.

"Lucy, Lucy look at me. We're going to help, all right?" I said, watching as Dean walked behind her, picking up his machete and looking the blade over. "We're going to make it stop, okay?" I said. She nodded, a smile coming to her face.

"Just look at me, okay? It'll all be over soon." I said. She continued to watch me with big blue eyes as Dean swung the machete, decapitating her in one go. Hot blood splattered across my face and down my front as I flinched, her head rolling to the side.

I stood up, grimacing as I wiped my face with my hands. Dean looked at me in mild horror, and then he chuckled. "Sorry babe," he said.

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Terrific," I said, looking down at Lucy's head on the floor, referring more to the situation we were in than my current blood-spattered predicament. "Just great."

* * *

_**Sioux Falls  
Bobby's House**_

_**- 7.5 years ago -**_

_I was starting to doubt that any of us were going to come out unscathed from our training in machetes as I watched the furious sparring that was occurring in front of me right now. Sam and I stood; entranced by the attacks and parries Dean and Cole were going through. Just as soon as she went on the attack he would turn the game on its head and push her into a corner, which had her coming back out fighting tooth and nail._

_I frowned, watching the anger and frustration in Cole's eyes. She was pissed off about something, and she was definitely not holding anything back when it came to Dean. They were evenly matched for fighting, I didn't know how she did it; Dean would always over power me, and I simply didn't have the upper body strength to keep up the longevity of such a fight. If I wanted to win against him, I had to make every swing count, and then throw in a little fighting dirty as well – even then I was lucky if I came out on top._

_Dean was giving as well as he got from Cole; he'd had a lot of frustrations built up in the last three or four months, since we'd been in Philadelphia with Jefferson. We'd come mere seconds from kissing, and only the keening wail of a spirit had halted us in our tracks. Memories of the night before that moment continued to haunt my dreams, the feel of him pressed in behind me as we slept in the one bed available which had sagged in the middle, leaving us little choice other than to cuddle all night. I shook my head, pushing it out of my mind._

_Cole got the upper hand on Dean and moved forward disarming him, his machete flying across the floor of the gym. He was beaten, but she didn't stop. In a dirty, unforeseen move she continued with her forward momentum, bringing her knee up into his groin. Dean grunted, and with a very unflattering whimper he fell to the floor of the gym, clutching at his crown jewels. Ouch. That had to hurt._

* * *

_**Spider Nightclub  
- Present Day -**_

We exited the nightclub, Dean letting out a sigh as we pushed through the people trying to get inside.

"That was a big, fat waste of time," Dean complained, looking at us. I shrugged and agreed. It was a shame we were working, a night out dancing sounded exactly like what I needed – not that I'd be able to convince Dean of that.

"Look, three blondes have gone missing, including Lucy, all last sighted here. I'm telling you, Dean, this is the hunting ground." Sam said.

Dean looked at me and grinned. "Pity he's got a blonde fetish. Maybe you should have left the blood, he might've gone for that." I raised my eyebrow and shook my head at him, half smiling in amusement.

My eyes fell upon a man walking on the other side of the road. He fit the description Lucy had given us, leather jacket and all, and currently had his arm around a very fetching young blonde.

"There," I said, pointing to the pair. Dean and Sam turned and eyed them off, nodding agreement. We crossed the road quickly, following them into an alley.

The girl was leaning against the wall of a building and giggling as the man stood in front of her. He pulled out a dropper of blood and she lifted her chin, opening her mouth like a baby bird waiting to be fed.

Dean moved quickly, and before the first red drop could hit her tongue he'd grabbed the guy's arm, pulling him away from his intended victim and punching him in the face. Sam pushed the girl back down the alley the way we'd come.

"Get out of here! Go, go!" He said with a wave of his arm.

The vampire recovered from Dean's initial attack, grabbing him by the his shirt and hurling him through the air to hit the brick wall with a sickening thud. "Dean!" I called out, pulling out my gun, but the vampire was already to the end of the alley – he was fast. I took off at a run after him.

I rounded a corner and the vampire was gone, but I wasn't alone. There was the silhouette of three guys, armed, standing in the middle of the alley I now found myself in. One looked very familiar.

"Gordon?" I had a moment to ask before he smirked and raised his gun just as Dean and Sam ran around the corner. I moved quickly to the nearest side alley I could see, hearing gunshots following my every move as I shouted a warning to the boys before diving out of sight. I found myself behind the attackers while Dean and Sam had taken cover by a wall behind some parked cars. I looked around the corner of the alley, firing a couple of shots toward the hunters to draw off their attention.

They feinted away from me, moving out of decent range, and then suddenly Dean ran out into the line of fire. I looked long enough to see him jump up on to a car, and then vault over the edge of a second story parking lot before I started moving away. Dean had managed to draw off the other guy, but Gordon was still gunning for Sam, and the third interloper had decided to come after me.

I ran down the alley and around a corner, checking entrances as I went until I found an open doorway leading to the back of a store. I moved quickly through to the street entrance, letting myself out and then melting into the crowd that was surrounding the nightclub where we'd started out. I looked around and frowned, my attacker was nowhere to be seen, neither was Dean or Sam.

Someone grabbed me from behind, and I turned, fighting them off, landing an elbow to their stomach before spinning to kick out at their stomach. Sam smirked, catching my foot mid-air and looked at me with a shake of his head. "Come on," he said and kept us moving, there was no telling if we'd lost our assailants permanently or not. Crossing to a less busy street, Sam flagged down a taxi and opened the door. I hesitated, looking at him.

"We can't leave him," I said, looking around. Sam sighed and turned frustrated eyes to me.

"Get in the car Beth, Dean will meet us back at the motel, you know that," he said. I thought about the Impala and where it was parked, he had been heading in that direction with the car park, maybe he'd made it without any further incident. At any rate, we'd have to face running into either the vampire or Gordon and his goonies again to go and collect her ourselves. It only took me a minute to see the sense in what Sam was saying. I didn't like it, but I didn't have to. I sighed and got in the back of the taxi, giving the driver the name of our motel.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
- Present Day -**_

When we arrived I started pacing the room. We'd cleaned up after Lucy, taking her body and burying in on the outskirts of town, and all the blood had been washed and cleaned. The mattresses still leaned against the windows so I had plenty of room to move as we waited for Dean to return. Sam watched me quietly, leaning against a wall.

I looked up at Sam and raised an eyebrow. "What?" I asked, curious as to what the interest was, he'd seen me do this a hundred times, why was he so focused on me now?

"Nothing, really," Sam said with a shrug, sitting down on a chair. "Hey, has Dean been acting more...strange, to you lately?" I paused and glanced back at him. I knew I hadn't been the only one to notice. In the last six weeks, since we'd stopped the drowned sailor spirit, he'd been more worked up and more willing to throw himself into the danger head on.

I nodded and bit my lip. I didn't know what to say about it, I didn't know what was going on with him, or how to help. He was starting to scare me, actually. I sunk on to another chair with a sigh.

"I don't know what to do Sam, he's... worked up all the time, he barely sleeps, if there's danger he throws himself in head first no questions asked. You saw him tonight!" Sam nodded, and looked at me worriedly.

"That vampire too, he waited until _she bit him _to inject her with that dead man's blood. It was too close Sam, too close for my liking," I continued, wrapping my arms around myself and trying to fight down the rising panic that I was losing the man I loved to a doppelganger that was only too ready to get him killed.

"How was he when you guys went to see Lisa?" Sam asked. I grimaced and groaned.

Dean and I had been dropping in to visit with Lisa and Ben whenever we had a spare couple of days and happened to be within a days' drive to Indiana. We'd spent a long weekend there a few days before coming to New York and it was great to see Dean and Ben actually starting to bond.

I sighed and rolled my eyes at Sam. "He took Ben pistol training. Guns, Sam! He's only seven years old! Lisa hit the roof," I said, running a hand over my face. "You know what he said to her when she found out? '_Kid needs to know how to protect himself, I won't be around forever._' Lisa doesn't even own a gun!" I shook my head, still feeling a little mortified from the whole exchange. Lisa had looked at me like I had some actual control over the man. Trying to rein in Dean during the last few weeks had been like trying to lasso a tornado. I was emotionally exhausted.

"It has to be the prospect of Hell," Sam said softly, looking at his hands. "The closer we get to the end of the …" He sighed, shaking his head. "I don't think we can even hope to understand what he's going through, Beth."

I nodded and felt the tears come into my eyes. "I can't lose him Sam, I can't. If he's just going to give up on himself, then there's nothing I can do, but I need him to fight. He needs to not give up on us. We will find a way."

Sam nodded and came to sit next to me, putting his arm around my shoulders. "It'll be okay Beth; we'll figure this out together."

Half an hour later and Dean still hadn't returned, I resumed pacing, the sound of my footsteps echoing on the linoleum floors. The door swung open and Dean waltzed through like he'd just been out for an afternoon stroll.

"There you are!" Sam exclaimed, beating me to it. Dean smiled and looked at us unconcerned, shrugging out of his jacket and walking over to kiss me on the cheek.

"Yeah, I stopped for a slice," he said.

Sam was on him in an instant. "Nice move you pulled back there, Dean, running right at the weapons."

"Well, what can I say? I'm a bad-ass." He joked, ignoring the look Sam threw him. His eyes met mine and I raised an eyebrow at him, crossing my arms. He squirmed a little under my gaze and then looked back at Sam.

"So I guess Gordon's out of jail," he said, changing the subject.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so," Sam said, shaking his head and sounding a little put-off by the sudden subject change. "You know, how the hell did he know where to find us?"

Dean paused, thinking it over and then realisation hit his face. "That bitch!" He snapped, whipping his phone out of his pocket and dialling.

"Hi Bela," he said sweetly when she answered. I gaped and crossed over to him, indicating he should put the call on speaker phone.

"Question for you," he said, hitting a button. "When you called me yesterday, it wasn't to thank me for saving your ass, was it?"

"_Gordon Walker paid me to tell him where you were," _Bela's voice came happily over the phone and I scowled. She sounded like a little girl who was admitting to something the hadn't thought was wrong in the first place.

"Excuse me?" Dean said, shocked.

"_Well, he had a gun on me. What else was I supposed to do?" _She said, sounding unconcerned.

"I don't know, maybe pick up the phone and tell us that a raging psychopath was dropping by!" Dean yelled.

"_I did fully intend to call," _Bela said contritely. _"I just got a bit sidetracked." _

"He tried to kill us!" I snapped at the phone.

"_Oh, hello Beth, lovely to hear your voice. I'm sorry, I didn't realise it was such a big deal. After all, there are three of you and one of him." _Bela said. I glared at the phone, and threw my hands up in the air. I was going to kill her.

"He had some friends with him," Dean said simply. Bela fell silent on the other end of the phone. "Bela, if we make it out of this alive, the first thing I'm gonna do is kill you," Dean said angrily.

"You're not serious," Bela said. Dean's eyes were furious, but she couldn't see that. He looked over at me, switching the phone back to non-speaker and holding it up to his ear.

"Listen to my voice and tell me if I'm serious," he said with a simmering rage just below his even tone. He hung up and then shoved the phone back in his pocket. "I'm gonna kill her!" He said again, looking at us. I smirked, that was fine, but he was going to have to get in line.

* * *

_**Sioux Falls  
Bobby's House**_

_**- 7.5 years ago -**_

_I gasped and started to move forward as Cole reached down to help Dean up from his compromised position. Dean struggled to a seated position and glared at her, raising his arm and backhanding her across the face. "God dammit Cole. I'm gonna kill you once I get back to my feet!" He snapped, scowling at her. Cole stepped, back, holding the side of her face and looking shocked. I knelt down beside Dean, meeting his eyes with a worried expression._

_He sighed when he saw me and grimaced as he gingerly moved his legs. Sam helped me get him to his feet and Dean groaned as he walked the couple of steps over to the couch that was pushed up against the wall of the gym. "What the Hell is her problem?" He muttered to me as I helped him down to the couch. I shrugged and looked over at her, John was giving her a good talking to, she had her arms crossed and they looked like they were about to go nine rounds of their own._

"_Stay here," I said, standing up and throwing him a sympathetic look, "I'll be right back." I hurried out of the gym and ran back to the house, my mind on getting anything that was going to ease his discomfort. We'd been butting heads a little lately but at the end of the day, we'd do anything for each other. I grabbed an ice pack out of the freezer and grimaced, it was hard, I couldn't imagine holding that comfortably against anything. Spotting a bag of frozen peas I grinned – much better! A bottle of bourbon, some pain killers, and a piece of pie later, I was ready to return to and play nurse._

_Dean met me half way back to the gym and I looked at him limping along. When he saw me he tried to hide his discomfort and I shot him a slightly amused look, slipping into a comfortable pace beside him, turning back toward the house. _

"_I was coming to you," I said with mild exasperation. "Didn't I tell you to stay there?" _

"_Yeah well, I don't feel like watching Dad and Cole tear apart the whole damn gym right now," he muttered. I threw a curious glance back toward the gym and raised an eyebrow. Good thing John's broken ankle had healed up well, he'd be giving her more than a run for her money right now._

_When we reached the house Dean gingerly walked up the stairs and into the library where he sat himself down on the couch with a groan. I handed him a couple of pain pills and went to fetch him a glass of water. By the time I'd walked back he was looking at the bag of peas I'd sat next to him in quiet confusion._

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

_**- Present Day -**_

Dean sat on a chair at the table, sharpening our machetes as I patched up his neck with some fresh gauze and tape. He smiled at me when I finished up, sitting next to him and watching as he worked. It was soothing at times to watch the methodical rhythm of the blade sliding against the whetstone. Sam was on the bed next to us cleaning his gun, and he looked over when I finished the nursing drill.

"That vampire's still out there," he said, looking at us pointedly.

"First things first," Dean said quietly, sliding the knife against the stone again.

"Gordon," I said, nodding.

"About that," Dean said, stopping what he was doing to look over at Sam in particular. "When we find him, or if he finds us... he's not leaving us a whole lot of options."

"Yeah, I know," Sam said quietly and calmly. "We've got to kill him." He said it like it was just going down the street and buying a pack of gum. I frowned; this wasn't like Sam at all.

"Really? Just like that?" I asked, and Sam looked up at me with a weariness to his conflicted eyes.

Dean nodded and chuckled. "I thought you would have been all _'No, we can't, he's human, it's wrong.'" _The last part was in a mock whining voice which would normally have annoyed Sam to no end, but the look he gave us was determined and calm.

"No, I'm done. Gordon's not gonna stop until we're dead... or till he is," Sam said. He had that right at least. Gordon had become fanatical in his quest to rid the world of Sam and what he thought was an Anti-Christ destiny.

Dean looked impressed, nodding and I found myself staring at my hands. I didn't like it any better than Sam did, but it certainly seemed like we had no choice at this point in time. Dean's phone started to ring from it's position on a dresser, and I got up to answer it, looking at the display. When I saw who it was I grinned and flipped the phone open.

"Bela... sorry darling, we're still alive, you can't come and harvest our organs just yet," I said sweetly.

The girl snickered and got straight to the point. _"Very funny Beth. I don't like it when people hold grudges against me, and more to the point, I'd rather Dean didn't kill me, so I went ahead and found Gordon's exact location for you,"_ she said. I raised an eyebrow.

"You're a hundred miles away, how the Hell did you...?" She cut me off.

"_Hello?! Purveyor of powerful occult objects? I used a talking board to contact the other side,"_ she said shortly. I was impressed, but not convinced.

"And?" I asked. Dean and Sam were gazing at me curiously; I flipped the phone to speaker so they could listen.

"_Warehouse. Two stories, riverfront, neon sign outside," _she said.

"Thanks," I said begrudgingly. Looked like it was time to go check out her accuracy.

"_One more thing. The spirit had a message for you. 'Leave town, run like Hell, and whatever you do, don't go after Gordon.' For whatever that's worth." _She hung up on us and I stared at the phone, swallowing hard. I didn't like the sound of that one bit.

"What the Hell does she mean by that?" I asked, frowning. Dean shrugged, looking over at Sam who was just as puzzled as the pair of us.

* * *

_**Warehouse**_

_**- Present Day -**_

The warehouse was quiet and eerie as we crept down the stairs. Dean led with Sam, and I took the rear. We all had our guns drawn, which I found slightly amusing since we'd been trained to use the machetes which were especially good on vampires, but if you needed to keep something at bay, guns were generally your best bet. My machete was laced to my thigh in its holster, and I at least felt comforted by the its presence.

A streetlight shone through a window lighting up part of the room where two girls hung suspended from the ceiling, their heads completely missing. I shuddered and looked at them, recalling what it had been like to practice on those pig carcasses John and Bobby had dragged home for us. This was worse, and much bloodier. The male vampire from the alley was kneeling in front of the corpses, his head bowed.

Dean took a knife from the table nearby and signalled that he was going to attack. I dropped my hand to my machete and threw him a questioning look, but he shook his head negatively. As he approached the vampire spoke, causing us to freeze.

"Go ahead. Do it. Kill me," he said. Dean looked confused at me and I shrugged.

"What happened here?" Sam asked, looking around at the mess. There was blood and sinewy strands of skin everywhere.

"Gordon Walker. I never should have brought a hunter here. Never," he said standing up and I raised an eyebrow; that much I could agree on with him. "I just... I just wanted some kind of revenge. Stupid... exposing him to my family." He turned to fan us, tears streaming down his face. Dean flexed, ready to attack with the knife while we held our guns ready to fire.

Dean snorted and shook his head. "Oh yeah, you're such a family man." Sam edged his way around the vampire toward the bodies, his gun never leaving aim from the man.

"You don't understand," Dixon said, watching Sam move.

It wasn't really what Dean wanted to hear right now. He was on edge, that much was clear and he wasn't interested in listening to the rambling nonsense of a blood-thirty creature.

"I don't want to understand, you son of ..." Dean was cut off by the vampire.

"I was desperate! You ever felt desperate?" The vampire asked, starting to move, circling away from Sam and around Dean so that he could keep us all in view. "I've lost everyone I ever loved. I'm staring down eternity alone. Can you think of a worse hell?" He asked.

Dean looked at him sternly, the knife raised to chest height in a defensive stance. "Well..." he said, a slight twitch to his eyebrow. "There's Hell."

Dixon didn't get the irony of that statement, but it wasn't lost on me. Hell was everything he'd just described, being separated from everyone you loved, all that you knew, alone... with the added cruelty of it being an eternity of agonising torture.

"I wasn't thinking. I just, I didn't care anymore," Dixon said. "Do you know what it's like when you just don't give a damn? It's like... it's like being dead already. So just go ahead. Do it."

Something on Dean's face made me hear what that vampire was saying. I exchanged a glance with Sam and he looked troubled. This is what we'd feared most, the point where Dean had stopped caring, had stopped having hope, and that he was already dead inside. The vampire had worded it perfectly, we were all feeling it to some extent, but Dean – it summed him up these past few months perfectly. I circled behind Dixon, unclipping my machete from the thigh holster. His attention was on Sam and the bodies hanging behind Dean.

"Dean..." Sam said, drawing their attention. "Head wasn't cut off, it was ripped off. With someone's bare hands. Dixon, what did you do to Gordon?" I turned and looked at the vampire, and then played over the possibilities in my head. Brute strength like that only tended to come from one thing – the supernatural, and the only one of those creatures around right now was a vampire. I sighed, hoping against hope that Dixon hadn't actually been stupid enough to turn a hunter.

* * *

_**Sioux Falls  
Bobby's House**_

_**- 7.5 years ago - **_

"_You want me to eat these?" Dean asked, holding the bag of frozen peas in the air. I laughed, sitting down next to him. _

"_Nope, they're for your nether regions," I said with a grin, raising my eyebrow at him. "You know... not quite as hard... they … meld," I said for lack of a better word. Dean gave me a curious look and then chuckled, placing the bag of frozen peas over his groin with a groan of relief. _

"_Here, this'll make you feel better," I said, and I started spooning pieces of pie toward his mouth which he happily accepted, making happy noises as he chewed and swallowed._

"_You don't have to do this you know, I can take care of myself," he mumbled around pieces of pie._

"_Yeah I know," I answered, "But that's what I do... I fuss over you, you look after me... we both look after Sammy." '_We don't get involved with each other,' _I thought to myself with a sigh. Dean caught the sigh and a look of understanding passed between us. This is how we worked now, an unspoken agreement that anything we wanted took a back seat for John and Sam. When it got too bad we butted heads and fought like cat and dog until something broke – either our bodies or our resolve, and then we went back to being brother and sister again, and the whole routine got set to repeat._

_Dean sighed and took the pie from my hands, putting it on the table in front of us. Shifting a little closer he put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him. "Come here," he whispered, placing a kiss against the top of my head as I leaned into him and rested my head on his shoulder. "Thanks," he said softly. _

"_Anytime," I replied, just as quietly. We were interrupted by the sound of the front door flinging open and Sam bounding up through foyer looking for us. Pulling apart reluctantly, we waited for him to find us. His shaggy hair cut made me chuckle as the sixteen-year-old came into the room all bright-eyed._

"_Dudes! You just missed out on the best fight! Cole looked like she wanted to kill Dad. They're nuts, like what the hell is wrong with her?" He asked giving Dean a sympathetic look. Dean grimaced and shrugged._

"_Beats me," he said before glancing at me, "you know what her problem is?" They both looked expectantly at me and I shook my head._

"_Nope, she's keeping this one close," I answered with a shrug._

_Sam was eyeing off the peas sitting on Dean's groin and grinning. "What?!" Dean said in an exasperated tone._

"_Peas for a pea sized..." He didn't get to finish the comment because Dean sent the fork from the pie dish flying in his direction. Sam ducked and ran out of the room laughing. I chuckled and Dean looked at me offended._

"_That's not funny!" He said, but there was laughter in his eyes._

"_Oh come on," I said, cuddling back up to him. "It's a little funny..." I looked up at him, a cheeky grin on my face. "Get it... little?" _

_Dean grabbed me, starting to tickle my ribs as I shrieked with laughter. "Little?! Why... I'll give you funny..." he said, momentarily having forgotten the pain in his crown jewels._

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

_**- Present Day -**_

As soon as daylight had hit, we started canvassing the town for Gordon. He had to be somewhere; a vampire had to go to ground in order to avoid the sun – that much about the legends was true, they didn't like being out during the day. Dean opened the door to our motel room and entered the room with a frustrated sigh, shrugging out of his jacket and tossing it on a chair.

"Man, we must have checked three dozen motels, empty buildings, warehouses..." he shook his head and went into the bathroom.

"Yeah, me too. Big city," Sam answered from where he was sitting at the table, looking over maps. Dean leaned over the sink and splashed his face with water, groaning from sheer exhaustion.

"It's like a giant haystack," I said with a sigh. "And Gordon's a deadly needle." I glanced at the curtains where a tiny streak of sunlight was passing between the mattresses we'd stacked there. I yawned, sleep on a bed sounded good right about now. "We're running out of daylight," I said instead.

"Yeah, we won't have the sun slowing him down soon," Dean agreed, stepping out of the bathroom.

"Yeah, he'll be unstoppable," Sam said quietly. "Hey, give me your phones," he said.

"What for?" Dean asked, reaching for his phone and handing it to Sam. Taking the backs off, Sam pulled the SIM cards out of the phones and looked up.

"Well, if Gordon knows our cell numbers he can use the cell signal to track us down," he answered.

"Oh yeah, thanks," Dean said, nodding.

Sam destroyed the SIM cards and smashed the phones underfoot.

"Man, I just downloaded a bunch of music to that phone," I said sadly. Sam looked up at me, a little chagrined.

"Did you back it up to the computer?" He asked and I shook my head, I hadn't had time. He looked sympathetically at me and I shrugged, these things happened.

Dean was looking out the window, and he suddenly turned, rummaging through his duffel bag.

"Okay, you guys stay here," he said, pulling the Colt out of the bag. I frowned and crossed the room to him.

"What? Where are you going?" Sam asked, looking over at us.

"I'm going after Gordon," Dean answered, checking the Colt over.

"What?" I asked, looking incredulously at him.

Dean looked up, meeting my gaze. "You heard me," he said quietly in a tone that sounded a lot like John's. I paused, looking at him, and felt my stubbornness come to the surface.

"You're not going alone," I said firmly.

"One: I don't need you to sign me a permission slip," Dean said brushing past me to go and lean against a dresser, still looking the gun over. "Two: He's after Sam, not us, and he's turbocharged. I want you to stay here and back up Sammy, just in case. I'll take care of this."

I spun around, following his movements. "You're gonna get yourself killed," Sam said angrily and Dean looked up at him.

"Just another day at the office," he quipped. "It's a massively dangerous day at the office," he added and I felt my ire rise up at his devil-may-care attitude.

"What, so you're the guy with nothing to lose now, huh?" I snapped, moving to stand in front of him as he loaded the Colt with fresh ammo. "Oh wait, let me guess. Because, uh, it's because you're already dead, right?" I said, glaring at him.

"If the shoe fits," Dean said with a shrug. I wanted to hit him, slap him right across the cheek and see that smug look fall off his face. Instead I ran a hand through my hair and sighed.

"You know what, Dean? I'm sick and tired of your stupid kamikaze trip," I said wearily.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa...kamikaze?" He said, looking offended. He smirked and looked over at Sam. "I'm more like a ninja."

"That's not funny," I said, crossing my arms. Dean's eyes held an amused glint when he looked back at me.

"It's a little funny," he said stubbornly to me. I rolled my eyes and threw my hands in the air, stalking off to the bathroom where I shut the door, leaning against it.

"No, it's not," I heard Sam say through the hollow door. This motel wasn't exactly four-star with decent sound proofing; I could hear everything they were saying.

"Well what does she expect me to do Sam, huh? Sit around all day writing sad poems about how I'm gonna die? You know what? I got one. Let's see, what rhymes with '_shut up the both of you!'_?" Dean's voice was irritated, and I slumped against the door.

"Dude, drop the attitude, Dean. Quit turning everything into a punch line," Sam said. "And you know something else? Stop trying to act like you're not afraid."

"I'm not!" Dean insisted and I shook my head in frustration.

"You're lying. You may as well drop it 'cause we can see right through you, and Beth deserves better man," Sam said. "She deserves your honesty."

"You got no idea what you're talking about," Dean said with a sigh.

"Yeah, I do," Sam said, looking at his brother with those big puppy dog eyes that worked on everyone else. "You're scared, Dean. You're scared because your year is running out, and you're still going to Hell, you don't know how to open up to Beth without making her worry, and you're freaked." I quietly opened the door, peeking through the opening at them – they were both standing and facing each other in the centre of the room.

"And how do you know that?" Dean asked.

"Because we know you," I said quietly. They both looked over at me.

"Really?" Dean asked, smirking.

"Yeah, really! I've been following you around my entire life!" Sam said, his face looking angry. "I mean, I've been looking up to you since I was four, Dean. Studying you, trying to be just like my big brother. So yeah, I know you!" He stopped short, looking at me and shaking his head, throwing a hand up in the air.

I crossed to Dean and he sighed, his eyes looking at me sadly. "Hey, I've spent almost every day with you for the last twelve years Dean. Don't tell me I don't know you. I know you better than anyone else in this world. Both of us do." I placed a hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat racing beneath it.

"This is _exactly _how you act when you're terrified," Sam interjected. "And, I mean, I can't blame you, it's just..." he stopped short, tears coming into his eyes as he shook his head, fighting off his own fears and frustrations.

"What?" Dean asked, looking over at him.

"It's just...I wish you would drop the show and be our brother again. Just...just 'cause." He said softly.

Dean stared at him a moment, silent, and then looked down at me. I nodded and looked at with all the love I felt in my heart, hoping it might make a difference; that he could move past the kamikaze thing. Dean's gaze dropped to the floor for a heartbeat and then he looked up and kissed my forehead, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me into him tightly. He looked over at Sam and nodded.

"All right, we'll hole up, cover our scent so he can't track us, and wait the night out here," he conceded. I breathed a sigh of relief, leaning into the embrace as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
Later That Night**_

_**- Present Day -**_

We were barricading ourselves into the motel room, all the windows covered by boards and the mattresses. Dean was in the process of bracing a shelving unit against the door so it couldn't be forced open. Sam was lighting up a bundle of sage, burning it over a clay dish to cover our scent.

Dean's new phone started ringing and I cast a curious look over at him. "You've had that phone two hours, Dean. Who'd you give the number to?" I asked. I wasn't even sure I had his new number.

"Nobody," Dean answered, frowning and picking his phone up, answering it. "Hello?" He froze when he heard the person on the other end of the line.

"How'd you get this number?" He asked, walking into the middle of the room which was now devoid of furniture other than a couple of chairs.

I deduced it was Gordon on the end of the phone and sighed, just how had he managed to track us?

"I guess you'll just have to find us," Dean said to something Gordon said and then he frowned, listening to whatever was being said. "What's the matter Gordo? You're not afraid of us, are you? We're just sitting here. Bring it on!" Dean said. I stood up from the chair I'd been sitting in and started to pace.

Dean's face took on a new expression, one that said we'd just been one-upped by the hunter turned vampire. "Gordon, let the girl go," Dean said sternly. I looked up and met his eyes, oh that couldn't be good. "Gordon! Don't do this. You don't kill innocent people. You're still a hunter." Dean said urgently, trying to reach to any kind of humanity left inside the man.

He pulled the phone back from his ear and cursed. "Son of a bitch!"

"What?!" Sam asked, standing next to me.

"We go to him, or he kills an innocent girl," Dean said, cursing again.

* * *

_**Sioux Falls  
Bobby's House**_

_**- 7.5 years ago - **_

_I sensed someone in the room long before I heard them, my awareness instantly going to the machete which was lying under the sheet against my leg. I rolled, pretending to stretch in my sleep and felt the cold press of metal against my neck. _

"_You're dead," Dean's voice said quietly with a chuckle. I opened my eyes and raised an eyebrow at him as he hovered over the top of me, half on the bed, half off. _

"_Maybe, but you'll never have sex again," I said with a grin. He looked surprised and then I made a point of brushing the sheet covered machete along the inside of his thigh, perfectly aligned with his bruised and sore appendage from earlier that day. _

"_Oh and here I thought you were just happy to see me," he said unfazed, smiling back at me and moving his machete away from my neck. I licked my lips and pulled my machete away from him, laying it against the wall that the bed was pushed up against. _

_I met his gaze and a forbidden charge of attraction passed between us. For a moment I fought it, like I had been for months, then he moved and I stopped breathing as he pressed his forehead against mine, leaning down as our mouths hovered less than an inch apart. Usually one of us pulled away at this point, someone said 'Stop', but be damned if I felt like it right now. _

_Dean didn't pull away either. I flicked my eyes at the door, wondering whether Cole would be coming up to bed any time soon._

"_Dean…" I said, my mouth suddenly dry as I licked my lips._

"_Mhmmm?" He said, staring down at me. _

"_What are you doing?" I asked, chewing on my now wet lip._

"_This…" He said, and I felt the electric thrill of his lips brush along mine, soft, barely touching at first and then, when I didn't pull back, leaning into the kiss, his tongue thrusting in to meet mine while he caressed my lips with his own. I moaned, winding my arms up around his neck and pulling him down on top of me. _

_He rolled over me to the other side of the bed, pulling me with him until I was laying half on top of him, staring down at his hazel eyes._

_I kissed him again before pulling back and sighing. "We shouldn't." I said._

"_We really shouldn't…" he agreed, but his hands ran up into my hair, pulling me down to claim my lips again. _

"_This is wrong, you're my brother," I continued, as Dean started kissing along my jawline and down to my neck where he sucked against my skin. My words might have been saying one thing, but I most definitely wanted this. Dean groaned, arching against me._

"_Definitely wrong… I'm totally turned off right now sis," he said with a chuckle. _

_I looked back at him. "What are we doing?" I asked, a sadness falling into my heart._

"_Isn't it obvious?" He asked, frowning at me. I shook my head. _

"_Dean we can't do this, we promised." I said, trying to be the voice of reason even though my heart was screaming at me to just give in and love him the way I wanted to. Dean sighed, pulling back and looking at me, the amusement falling from his eyes. _

"_Yeah, yeah okay, you're right." He said, rolling me over to my back again, his mouth hovering over mine. "Tell me you don't want this," he said, his eyes searching mine._

_I swallowed, tears in my eyes as I brushed a hand along his face. He leaned in to the touch, closing his eyes for the briefest moment. _

"_I don't want this…" I lied, my voice barely a whisper. He sighed, brushing his cheek against my hand and nodding. _

"_I'm sorry Beth, get some sleep okay?" He said quietly, kissing my forehead. I let out a shuddering sigh and fought back my tears as he climbed off the bed and started to move toward the door. I sat up, grabbing his hand._

"_Dean…" I bit my lip, looking up at him. "I'm sorry." _

"_I know," he said with a nod, squeezing my hand. _

"_Please don't hate me," I said, swallowing back a huge lump in my throat. Dean turned and leaned down to kiss my lips and then the top of my head again before messing up my hair._

"_I could never hate you, Beth. We're good," he said with a smile before grabbing his machete off the floor and heading for the door. I watched him leave, waiting for the door to close before rolling over and burying my face, allowing the tears to fall, muffling my sobs into the pillow._

* * *

_**Factory**_

_**-Present Day-**_

The factory was dark and lit up by pendulum lights swinging from the rafters. The door had been open when we arrived, and we were currently stalking through the back loading area, looking for the girl. I had the Colt in hand, while Dean and Sam were carrying machetes. I wondered vaguely what had happened to Gordon's companions from earlier, no one had seen hide nor hair of them, and they certainly didn't seem to be here right now.

We entered an open area and found the girl tied to some pipes. She was gagged and whimpering.

"Hey, we got you," Sam said, falling to his knees and starting to untie her. "Don't worry, we're gonna get you out of here." Untied, Dean helped the girl to her feet, and led her out of the little alcove she had been in. She stumbled, barely able to walk. Slinging her arm around his shoulders, Dean slipped an arm under her knees and picked her up, and she sobbed into his shoulder as he carried her.

I took the lead with the gun, moving toward the exit, Dean right behind me with the girl, and Sam bringing up the rear. We were close to the door out when suddenly a mechanical door slid down, separating Sam from us. Dean dropped the girl on the ground carefully, kicking at the door.

"Sam!" I yelled, looking around for a button or some other way to open it.

"Beth!" Sam yelled back, his voice sounding like he was far away as he beat on the door from the other side while Dean did the same.

"Damn it, Sam!" Dean cursed. Sam pounded the door one more time but it was useless.

Dean exchanged a frustrated look with me, looking around and picking up a metal pipe from the ground nearby, he started swinging away at part of the door, hoping to hack his way through.

"I'll look for a switch to open it from this side," I said and he nodded as I went down a corridor nearby. I was about to look in an office I'd found when I heard a scuffle taking place back where I'd come from and Dean cry out in surprise. I ran, sprinting back the twenty yards I'd come. When I rounded the corner, Dean was on the ground, crawling back toward where he'd dropped his machete, and the girl was standing over him, hissing. I realised instantly what Gordon had done, and raised the Colt, aiming for her head. The bullet hit her in the forehead and she screamed, falling to the ground dead.

"Are you okay?" I asked, helping Dean to his feet and looking him over for any bites or other injuries.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good. We gotta get to Sammy. Let's see if we can find another way round." He took the gun from me, and I unsheathed my machete, nodding. We started down the corridor I had been in earlier, listening for Sam and Gordon. We didn't have to wait long. Suddenly Sam and Gordon came flying through a wall, the air becoming thick and choked with dust and debris.

Gordon lashed out at Sam, disarming him and sending the machete he had been holding flying across the ground. With superhuman strength Gordon picked up Sam throwing him across the room into me, knocking us both to the ground. I felt my ankle twinge as I landed on it at an angle and I cried out in pain.

Dean moved, pointing the Colt at Gordon's head, but he wasn't fast enough, he grabbed Dean's gun arm, spinning him around and flinging him into a wall. Like a rabid dog, he set upon Dean, pinning him to the wall and I watched in horror as he sunk his teeth into Dean's neck.

"No!" Sam and I cried out at the same time. Sam was on his feet and charged at Gordon, hitting him across the back of the head with his bare hands. Gordon pulled away from Dean who was struggling to stand, leaning heavily against the wall. He knocked Sam down, advancing on him and picking him up by the front of his jacket, slamming him down on a work bench next to them.

He slammed Sam's head into the bench again and I struggled to my feet, limping on the sprained ankle. Sam had managed to get a hold of some razor wire and was holding it in hands that he'd wrapped in cloth. He wrapped it around Gordon's neck and pulled. I grabbed my machete from the ground, moving over to back Sam up. If this didn't work, I was going to cut the bastard's head off myself.

Gordon bared his teeth and struggled against Sam, who was pulling hard on the wire, blood dripping down his hands where the wire was digging in. John had been right, without the momentum of a swing from behind, it was extremely hard to decapitate someone, the wire moved at an agonisingly slow pace through the sinew and muscle of Gordon's throat, I watched in fascinated horror as it dug its way in, Gordon hissing and choking on his own blood.

Sam panted with the effort it was taking and then with a final grunt he pulled harder, cutting through the neck all the way, and I felt a sense of relief wash over me as Gordon's head rolled to the floor. Now it really was over.

Dean staggered to his feet, clutching at his neck and I ran to his side, grimacing. He looked over at Gordon's head on the ground in surprise and then back at Sam who was standing, looking at his bloodied hands. We both chuckled at him, shaking our heads. He looked up and shrugged sheepishly, like it had been no big deal decapitating someone with razor wire. I groaned to look at the pair of them all bloody and battered, pulling a cloth out of my jacket pocket and handing it to Dean to hold against his neck. I reached into Dean's jacket and pulled another one out, limping over to dab at Sam's shredded hands.

As we made our way slowly out of the factory, all three of us stumbling and leaning against against each other, Dean snickered, glancing over at Sam.

"You just charged a super-vamped-out Gordon with no weapon. That's a little reckless, don't you think?" He asked with a smirk, holding his neck. Sam just snickered and shook his head.

"You're both nuts," I muttered with a sigh, slipping my arms around both their waists as we walked.

* * *

_**Side of a Two-lane Blacktop (somewhere)**_

_**-Present Day-**_

I was lying under the Impala staring up at the underbelly of the car. I frowned, fiddling with a bolt.

"You got it?" Dean asked for the third time, watching me anxiously from above.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," I muttered, twisting one more time until it was tight. "Okay!" Dean nodded and smiled down at me.

"Now get out from under there would ya? You're making me nervous!" He said with a grin. I rolled my eyes at him and scooted out sideways, allowing him to help me to my feet.

"Hey! I know what I'm doing under there!" I said in mock offence, crossing my arms and looking at him. He grinned and pulled me in to him.

"I know you do, I taught you myself remember? That's not what was making me nervous," he said, kissing my neck. I moaned and wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling him in to me.

"Oh yeah?" I asked, curious. He pulled back and kissed me again.

"I was afraid you were going to end up covered in oil again and we are nowhere near a gas station. Can't have you getting oil on the upholstery!" He slid his hand up into my hair, holding my head still as he leaned in, his lips capturing mine as he started to kiss me insistently.

Sam cleared his throat from where he sat on the cooler holding a beer.

"So, did you guys figure our what's making that rattle?" He asked, raising his eyebrow as he smiled at our current embrace.

Dean pulled away and looked thoughtful, moving around to the driver's window and reaching in to start the car. It roared to life, but the rattle was still there; Dean turned the car off again with a shake of his head.

"Hmmm, not yet," I said, looking at the engine. Dean chuckled and leaned under the hood once more.

"Hey, Sammy, give me a box wrench, would ya?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow at Dean and he winked at me.

Sam reached over to the toolbox and handed one over. "Yeah, there you go," he said, passing it to Dean.

"Thanks," Dean said. He paused and then looked at his brother. "Sam."

Sam looked up with a frown. "What? Wrong one?" He asked.

"No, come here for a second," Dean said, waving him over.

Sam stood up with a confused look in my direction and I grinned, shaking my head. I moved to the cooler reaching in and grabbing a beer for myself, cracking it open.

"This rattle could be a couple of things. Now I'm thinking it's an out-of-tune carb," Dean said, looking down at the engine.

"Okay..." Sam said, looking at him confused and then nodding.

"All right, see this thing?" Dean said, pointing to an engine part. "It's a valve cover. Inside are all the parts that are on the head," he said. "Hand me that socket wrench," he instructed. Sam reached behind him, grabbing the wrench and turning back to Dean. "All right, you with me so far?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, uh, valve cover covers the head," Sam said with a nod. I took a sip of my beer and grinned, moving around to stand on the other side of Dean, watching him do one of the things he loved best. He was relaxed, and happy, and completely in his element.

"Very good," Dean said. He pointed to another part. "This is your intake manifold, and on top of it?" He looked questioningly at Sam, waiting for an answer.

"It's, uh, a carburetor," Sam said, smiling broadly. I chuckled, it seemed some of Dean's long-lost lessons hadn't been completely lost on him.

"Carburetor... very good," Dean said with a smile, standing up.

"What's with the auto shop?" Sam asked. Dean answered by holding out the socket wrench to him. "You don't mean you want..." Sam looked at him sceptically, shaking his head.

"Yeah, I do. You fix it," Dean said with a nod.

"Dean, you barely let me drive this thing. Let Beth do it, she knows more about it than me," Sam said.

"Yeah, but that's my point. It's time. You should know how to fix it. You're gonna need to know these things for the future," Dean said. Sam paused, looking at our brother, staring into his eyes. An understanding passed between them, one that none of us particularly wanted to voice. One of us, Sam or me, was going to have to take care of the Impala in a little over four months time. Dean turned and looked at me with a sadness in his eyes. "And besides, that's my job, right? Show my little brother the ropes?" He said after a moment.

Sam nodded, swallowing back some tears and taking the wrench from him. He leaned in to the carburetor, unscrewing the cover. Dean took my hand, leading me around to the cooler, sitting down and pulling me on to his lap. He took a sip of his beer, wrapping his arms around me as he turned to watch Sam as he worked on the car.

"Put your shoulder into it," Dean instructed and I chuckled. Sam was in for it now.

I snuggled into Dean's arms, sliding my arms around his neck as he balanced on the cooler, his arms around my waist. With tiny, soft kisses along his neck, I smiled and breathed in the smell of oil mixed with his usual earthy pine scent.

Dean chuckled, raising his beer to his mouth and taking a sip. I took it from him and had a mouthful of my own, watching his amused green eyes. "What's so funny?" I asked, curious.

He stroked a couple of fingers along the back of my neck and I shivered at the pleasurable touch, sighing happily as I buried my face back into his neck.

"Who knew that day spent hacking at pigs was going to come so in handy," Dean commented randomly. I laughed softly, shuddering at the memory.

"God Dean, that day was horrible!" I said, shaking my head with my nose pressed against his skin.

"Yeah, but hey, only Dad would be nuts enough to train us about decapitation... just in case we needed it one day," Dean commented, his chest shaking with silent laughter.

I smiled and untangled myself long enough to press my forehead up against his, my nose brushing along his as I kissed his lips firmly, taking my time and enjoying the feel of his soft mouth under mine.

"Poor Porky," I said with a quirky grin after a moment and Dean burst into laughter. Sam glanced over at us with a smile and paused to take a drink of his beer, watching us as we took in the moment. Our lives seemed to always be so fast and furious it was nice to take a time out. It was even better to hear Dean laugh once in a while.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

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The song for this chapter is: _Life is Beautiful _by Sixx:AM

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Check out the Facebook page, put in the address, then add /pages/Dean-Beth-Supernatural-Fanfic/6167414450129 46

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Lots of thanks to EarthhAngel for her ongoing support, beta reading, and company as we write our stories :) It's so much when you have people to bounce ideas off!

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter – welcome to all the new followers and favouriters, great to have you with us!

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Please leave a review, you know how much I love to get them! Mahalo.


	14. Chicken Soup for the Hunter's Soul

_How many girls in the world can make me feel like this?__**  
**__Baby I don't ever plan to find out__**  
**__The more I look, the more I find the reasons why__**  
**__You're the love of my life_

_And you know one of these days when I get my money right__**  
**__Buy you everything and show you all the finer things in life__**  
**__We'll forever be in love, so there ain't no need to rush__**  
**__But one day I won't be able to ask you loud enough_

_I'll say, "Will you marry me?"__**  
**__I swear that I will mean it__**  
**__I'll say, "Will you marry me?"_

* * *

**CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE HUNTER'S SOUL**

* * *

_**Salt Lake City**_

_**-6 months ago-**_

**Beth's POV**

I hurried back from the diner down the street carrying a bag full of food, my mind anxiously on what awaited me back at the motel. When I'd left, everything had been calm, but it was probably going to be short lived. There was a monster in my bed and for the last two days it had been trying to consume me.

The sound of more coughing and moans greeted me when I opened the door and I realised he was awake. _Damn. _I had hoped he might be able to get a few more hours sleep, it had been a rough couple of days and it was doing nothing for either of our moods.

"There you are!" Dean said with a scratchy voice. "Where have you been?" He asked, looking at me with miserable green eyes. I smiled and put the food on the table, crossing over to sit on the side of the bed next to him. I placed a hand across his forehead, gauging his temperature manually.

Although still a little clammy, his forehead had cooled immensely in the last four hours, and I was starting to hope that he was getting through the worst of it.

"I went to get some food and medicine," I said softly, looking at him.

"I didn't know where you'd gone..." Dean said with a pout and smirked, he was kind of cute when he was like this. For the last two days he'd done nothing but cling to me and want attention showered upon him. I didn't mind indulging, any time spent with Dean, even the sick moments, was welcomed.

"Sorry," I said, trailing my lips along his jawline. "I thought you'd sleep the whole time I was gone, God knows you could use it." Dean sighed and turned to kiss me and then pulled away.

"I don't want to make you sick," he said, covering his mouth as his whole body shook from a deep, rattling cough. I turned and rubbed his back with my hand, making soothing noises.

"It's a little late for that Dean, besides, you need some doctoring." I replied with a smile.

Dean smiled and nodded. "Did you get pie?" He asked, hopeful.

"No, they were out," I said, watching his face fall. "Besides, you need something better than sugar." Dean sighed and threw himself back on to his pillow.

"I'm fairly certain I brought you pie when you were sick," he complained, I snickered, shaking my head at him.

* * *

_**New Orleans, Louisiana**_

_** -2 years ago-**_

**Beth's POV**

Water dripped from the pipes above us, a constant sound that echoed down through the alleyway we found ourselves in. Dean crouched behind a couple of crates, looking at the scene ahead of us.

We'd come down here on a routine enquiry about a Voodoo witch who had been delved into human sacrifice and was raising zombies for some unknown reason. Thinking it was a simple find and kill, John had sent us alone. He couldn't have anticipated finding us caught up in a whole Voodoo war that was brewing between two of the biggest witches in town.

Babies had been going missing, and there was a disturbing report that they were being sacrificed to old gods to bring about the darkest, most powerful magic there was – the power of life and death.

This is where the zombies had come into play. They were being used as foot soldiers over a turf war. I was amazed at the stupidity of these witches, using supernatural creatures in their own personal power play.

Dean looked back at me and nodded, gesturing that we should move closer the group of people who were gathering at the end of the alley. There was a large stone slab which people had encircled, they were chanting and through the night's air the piercing cry of a baby rang out, chilling my blood.

Moving on quiet feet, Dean scooted further down the alleyway, gun drawn, looking for the person who held the baby. I flicked the safety off my own gun, swallowing hard and struggling to see in the dimly lit alley. Silently, I joined Dean behind a dumpster, peeking out at the crowd before sliding back beside him.

"Eight, not including the priestess," I whispered and he nodded.

"Not going to be easy," he said, "we need back-up, but we don't have time." I nodded in response. It was now or never, this child was getting murdered tonight.

Dean pulled a second gun from the small of his back and checked the clip, sliding it back into place. Gun in each hand he took a long steadying breath. I stilled my own fast beating heart, slipping into a kill zone that we would need to get through this. We had to be completely in the moment, relying on our instincts only.

Crouching, Dean scooted around me and at the last moment he kissed me, eyes meeting mine with concern. "Be careful," he said quietly.

"You too," I said, nodding.

The chanting had picked up; we moved quickly, the sounds of the people muffling our approach. I circled around to the right of the group and hid in the shadows while I waited for Dean's signal. An old Voodoo priestess walked out into the centre of people, her long dark tresses knotted and tangled down her back past her backside.

She had the appearance of an old, gnarly tree, brown and rotted with age, but when her eyes looked around the people they were green, brighter and more vivid than Dean's eyes, and I found them incredibly striking.

A woman stepped forward with the screaming baby. I cringed to watch it. They were supposedly special children, not any child would do, which was the reason the war had erupted as the two sides of a feud fought to gain the advantage on the other. According to the people we'd spoken to, this was the last child in a group of three that would be born for fifty years. We'd come across the baby girl's distraught parents in the process of our investigations, and they'd explained the history behind the special children.

The woman handed the child to the priestess, who raised it over her head.

"Tonight," she said loudly to the gathered people, "we gain the last of our people back from the dead, and together, we shall reclaim what is rightfully ours! We will take it all!"

The crowd cheered and at this moment Dean pushed his way into the centre of the circle, guns held extended out to either side of him, one pointed directly at the priestess.

"Yeah, I have to disagree," he said with a cocky grin. "Only thing you're getting tonight is a big bag of disappointment."

The crowd moved and Dean swung his gun around, waving it at the people who had broken into the circle. They froze. I swallowed hard, thankfully there was no presence of the zombies we'd been hearing about, or we'd be in a world of trouble.

The priestess smirked and that's when I stepped from the shadows, bringing my gun up to the back of her head as I pushed into the circle.

"Give me the child," I ordered her, and she turned those green eyes on me. They were bewitching, and someone who hadn't been around the supernatural for the last eight years might have crumbled, but we'd expected as much, and had worn hex bags against glamour.

I raised the gun slightly higher, pointing it toward her forehead. "Child, now." I said calmly. With narrowed eyes, she flicked a look over at Dean who was holding his own. We could definitely kill half of them if we had to, but right now we were bluffing our way through this situation. If they decided to call our bluff, things were definitely going to get interesting.

Suddenly a lightning bolt lit up the area and I struggled to keep my focus as our surroundings erupted into complete chaos. The priestess looked panicked for just a second before falling behind her dark mask. She grasped the child to her bosom and started to walk away.

We were surrounded; the eight from the initial group were throwing energy bolts back and forth with another faction, it was like being in the centre of a storm cloud. Dean was ducking and moving toward me as I followed the priestess, grabbing her arm and spinning her toward me. She raised her hand and it was as if blue lighting were in the palm of her hand.

She reached forward but was stopped in her tracks. Dean raised his gun and shot at the woman, hitting her in the forehead twice. The priestess looked shocked for a moment, and then fell to her knees. Her eyes went dim and then she fell forward, the child still in her arms. I caught them both, pulling the child to my chest and letting the woman fall.

"Let's go," Dean said as I looked at the witch, dead at my feet. We started to back away when a man stepped in front of us. Without warning he pointed in our direction and blue lightning seemed to fork from his fingers. I turned, facing my back to him to protect the baby and felt a ripple of heat course the length of my spine in both directions and then fan out.

"Beth!" I heard Dean call out and then there was the sound of gunshots being fired. I fell to the ground, my eyesight fuzzy and head spinning. The next thing I knew Dean pulled my left arm around his neck, supporting me to stand as I held the baby in my other arm. I stumbled, and he picked us both up, carrying us away from the commotion, the people, seeing their leaders dead were beginning to run, the battle seemingly over now.

"You'll be okay," Dean said, his green eyes guarded and assessing as he put me in the car, settling the baby in my arms. I leaned back against the seat, barely able to nod as he rushed around to the driver seat. I didn't feel like I was going to be okay. I felt like I'd just been zapped with a 10,000 volt taser, the last thing I remembered was trying to protect the baby as everything went black.

* * *

_**Salt Lake City**_

_**-6 months ago-**_

**Dean's POV**

I rolled over, a burning pain stabbing down my throat as I coughed and gagged into my pillow.

"Argggh!" I moaned involuntarily, I felt like death warmed up, I couldn't remember ever being this sick. I definitely blamed it on our stay at the Hard Rock Hotel, and the fact that they had swim-up blackjack and craps tables. We hadn't even needed the tux and little black dress, a bikini on Beth had been even better – even if lady luck hadn't been with us.

Beth came out of the bathroom wearing a robe and drying her hair from the shower she'd just had. I traced the line along the robe down her leg and felt other parts of my body perk up at the view.

"Hey," she said, placing a cool hand against my forehead. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Do I look like I'm feeling any better?" I sighed, shaking my head. "No!" She smiled patiently at me, which tempered my mood a little bit. I reached out and tugged at the robe's belt, opening the robe and slipping a hand in to run it along Beth's naked hip. She groaned and looked down at me, her eyes darkening with desire.

"Cut it out, you're nowhere near well enough to be thinking about _that," _she said with a grin, but she didn't pull away as she kept drying her hair. I raised any eyebrow and snaked my hand further around her waist, pulling her up against the bed so I could kiss the soft skin at her stomach.

"Maybe it's exactly what the doctor ordered?" I suggested, my voice hoarse and throat burning with the short spoken sentence.

Beth looked thoughtful and then leaned down to kiss me. "Maybe," she said quietly, "but first you need to eat something, you haven't eaten all day."

I groaned in frustration and grabbed her about the waist, pulling her over me and rolling her on to her back beside me so I could start kissing along her neck, my hand pushing open her robe so I could leisurely run my fingers along her bare milky skin.

When she moaned instead of fighting me off, I grinned, taking a nipple in my mouth, sucking it in between my lips and flicking my tongue across the tip. I was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath as Beth arched beneath me.

With a groan, I sucked on it a couple more times before breaking away and starting to lick and kiss my way down her stomach just enjoying the touch of her skin beneath me – so soft and inviting. I trailed my hand up along her leg and delighted in the shaky breath Beth took as I parted her legs, brushing along her inner thigh in soft, teasing circles.

The tickle in my throat was back and I groaned, trying to ignore it because how often did I actually get a few weeks alone with Beth? I needed to be able to take advantage of this, not be stuck in bed sick! My body had other ideas as a cough rose in my throat and I pulled away, covering my mouth. When the coughing fit was over I buried my face against her stomach, groaning.

"Man!" I complained and she laced her fingers through my hair, gently massaging my scalp.

"Another time," she said softly, lifting my chin to look me in the eyes. "You need to rest."

I sighed and nodded, crawling up beside her and placing a kiss in the crook of her neck. Beth smiled and turned to kiss me again before rolling to the side of the bed and getting up. She pulled out a pair of leggings and baggy t-shirt from her bag, and got changed.

Within minutes she was microwaving some soup from the diner down the street and sitting on the side of the bed spoon feeding me.

* * *

_**New Orleans, Louisiana**_

_** -2 years ago-**_

_**Dean's POV**_

The doctor was looking at me with quiet concern and I glanced over at Beth who was in the hospital bed asleep. She was shaking and feverish and they didn't know why.

"Now, you say she was electrocuted?" The doctor asked and I nodded. "There's no evidence of any heart damage or anything related to electrocution."

"Well then what the hell is wrong with her Doc?" I asked, crossing my arms and watching her closely.

"We need to run some more tests, but at this point there doesn't seem to be anything we can identify," the doctor answered. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"Yeah, okay, well whatever you need to do, just do it," I said. The man nodded at me, patting me on the shoulder as he left. I turned and gazed over at Beth again all manner of worry running through my mind. I hated this, when there was something so out of my control. I hated having to rely on doctors and outside people to fix something; it was just so much easier to fix it myself.

I pulled out my phone and called Dad, letting it ring until it hit voicemail. I sighed and waited for the beep. "Dad, it's Dean. Listen we're gonna have to stay down here a few more days, Beth was hurt last night. We've taken care of the witch doctor thing, I just have to wait and see what's happening the doctors. I'll keep you posted." I hung up after leaving the message and went into the bathroom that was shared with the room next door.

Taking a wash cloth I wet it with cold water and went back out to Beth, placing it against her forehead. She whimpered softly at the coldness of the cloth but settled down as I stroked along her face. I smiled as her brown eyes fluttered open and she looked up at me with a sigh of relief.

"You're okay…" She said softly with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said with a kiss to her forehead. "I wasn't the one who got hit with some Voodoo lightning." She frowned and nodded. Suddenly she lurched forward and jumped out of the bed, running for the bathroom. She reached the toilet just as the entire contents of her stomach came up. I hurriedly followed, holding her hair back as retched into the bowl in front of her.

With a groan she sat back and I handed her the cloth that I'd been using to wash her face. "Well that was unpleasant," she commented with a wry smile. I grimaced and stood up to pour her a glass of water, conscious that she was trembling again from the strain of moving so quickly into the bathroom.

Beth stayed kneeling by the toilet, resting her head in her hands. The fact that she hadn't moved told me volumes in and of itself, she was weak, and that was rare for her. I handed her the water with a concerned look and she drank it with a grateful smile.

"Come on, let's get you back to bed," I said, holding out my hand for her to take. She climbed unsteadily to her feet and wavered there.

"Dean.." She gasped softly, grabbing my arm. I put my arm around her waist, pulling her body into mine and softly caressing her cheek with my free hand.

"You okay?" I asked, she shook her head.

"I'm really dizzy, I don't think I can walk," she answered. This had me instantly on alert, how on earth could the doctors stand there and tell me there was nothing wrong with her? She gagged again and turned back to the toilet, leaning over and dry retching. There was nothing in her stomach to come out except for a disgusting green bile. I watched helplessly as she shuddered against the involuntary spasms of her entire upper body.

After a moment she stood up again, tears in her eyes from the effort of being sick. She took another drink of water and then turned to me with a sigh, wrapping her arms around my waist and pulling me close. I bit my lip and groaned in frustration, holding her against me. What the hell were we going to do now?

_**Dean's Journal – 1 week later**_

_It's been a week since Beth was hit with that energy bolt. The doctors can't find anything wrong to explain her sickness, so I've checked her out of the hospital and taken her to a motel, at least she's comfortable and I can watch over her a little better. Dad hasn't been in touch, I'm starting to worry because he should have checked in by now. I called Cole, Caleb, Pastor Jim and Jefferson. Cole hasn't heard from him in a couple of weeks, the rest of them haven't heard from him in over a month. I haven't told Beth yet, I don't want to worry her, she has enough on her plate. I contacted Celine, the mother of the child we rescued, trying to get some answers as to what might be going on with Beth, She was hesitant to get involved but no one else will help, and I am about to reach the end of my patience with these people. I think she heard it in my voice, because she's bringing someone to see us tonight._

**Beth's POV**

Dean had been stressing for the last week about what was happening to me, and we'd gotten no closer to finding any answers. I'd started to feel slightly better, I wasn't throwing up anymore, but the dizziness and weakness remained. I closed my eyes, snuggling in a little closer to Dean as we lay on the bed watching re-runs of _Gilligan's Island. _His hand was lightly tracing up and down my back and it was comforting. In this moment I could almost forget that anything was wrong.

I ran my hand down his chest to the end of his t-shirt, and then slid it back under the fabric, splaying my palm across his stomach and stroking in long, languishing touches. Dean groaned and leaned down to kiss the top of my head. "What are you doing?" He asked, lifting my chin up to catch my gaze.

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked, coining a phrase he used way too often on me. He chuckled and kissed me.

"Well it is to me cherry-pie, but are you sure you're up for it?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. I grinned and scooted up on the bed, turning to climb into his lap, my legs either side of him as I kissed along his jawline and down his neck.

"Mmhmmm," I said softly into his skin, rocking against his groin.

Dean growled from sheer deprivation, rolling me in one smooth motion to my back, leaning over me and running a hand up my side in one long slow stroke. He grasped the waistband of my shorts, sliding them down in one movement taking my underwear with him. I gasped at the determination and sudden directness of his movements.

With hot, tantalising kisses, Dean trailed his lips over my left knee, and breathed along the skin of my inner thigh, placing kisses as he went. I groaned and laid back, enjoying the sensations it was generating deep inside of me. He reached my hip and licked along the soft skin toward my centre and I groaned in anticipation.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Dean sighed, looking up at the clock by the bed. "Damn, it got late all of a sudden," he said, looking at me apologetically. I chuckled and gestured for my shorts which he tossed to me while standing up. He grimaced down at his lap and I almost laughed at his arousal standing half-mast.

"Son of a bitch!" He cursed and I watched as he closed his eyes and started muttering to himself about old grandma's, smelly feet and damage occurring to the Impala. The last thought seemed to do the trick when combined with a second knock at the door. He stopped to tuck a gun at the small of his back, covering it with his t-shirt.

He then opened the door to reveal Celine, the mother of the child we'd rescued. I looked at Dean curiously and he waved her inside. She had an old lady with her who turned piercing brown eyes to me as soon as she came into the room. She unabashedly walked over to where I was sitting up on the bed, and Dean frowned watching her every move.

"You the one saved our Sadie?" She said to me in a thick dialect. I nodded, and looked over at Dean. "Bonne," she said, nodding back at me as she clicked her tongue. With a wrinkled hand she reached out and grasped my face between her hands.

"Etourdi? Malade?" She said in French, questioning me. I looked over at Celine, questioning.

"I don't..." I shrugged, not understanding. We tended only to do dead languages in our line of work. Celine murmured and translated for us.

"Um, Etourdi... Dizzy? Sick?" She asked, looking at me. I nodded.

"Yes, both," I said to the old lady. She clicked her tongue again and shook her head.

"Sickness is passing," Dean commented, coming to stand by her. "But she is still dizzy and weak."

She nodded, it seemed she understood English just fine, but simply didn't speak it very well. The old lady muttered to herself, shaking her head, and then stood to look at Dean sadly. I frowned, looking over at Celine.

"What's wrong?" I asked, sitting up straighter. "What's wrong with me?"

The old lady looked back at me and crossed over to Celine, speaking in low tones to her. Celine's eyes widened as she listened and when she had finished speaking she looked over at me.

"Mama says you have the spirit sickness. The .. uh.. lightning? It was energy taken from the edge of life and death. It has caused an imbalance in you, which is why you feel so sick and dizzy. It's like the curtain between worlds has been pulled back slightly," she explained.

I frowned, looking up at Dean in alarm. "Well what does that mean?" He asked, looking over at them. "How can we fix it?"

The old lady shook her head and muttered to Celine again.

"She says …" Celine paused and looked down at the little lady beside her. "Ange?" She clarified with the lady who nodded vigorously. With a frown Celine turned and looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry, my grandmother has a very strong belief system. She says... you must ask your angel to assist. It may get better, it may not. She cannot say. I'm sorry." Celine relayed to us.

I covered my face with my hands and sighed, running my hands through my hair as I sat back against the headboard. "Great," I said. How on earth was I going to hunt like this? Dean was chewing on his bottom lip, thinking about all this new information.

"Okay, well... thank you for coming out," he said, nodding at them. They all said their farewells and Dean showed them out of the room, turning back to me.

"Oh my god Dean! I can't live like this!" I said, feeling my voice starting to rise a little in panic. He crossed the room and pulled me into his arms, holding me close.

"You won't have to, we'll figure it out, I promise," he said as I clung to him, feeling my breathing start speed up. He sounded so sure of himself, so I let myself relax into his arms and be calmed by his assurances. I trusted him, if Dean said it was going to be okay, I believed him. "It'll be okay Beth, I'm going to take care of you."

* * *

_**Salt Lake City**_

_**-6 months ago-**_

_**Dean's POV**_

Beth was spoon feeding me like a little child and part of me was really enjoying it; the other part of me was simply frustrated at my inability to take care of myself.

"I can do it myself..." I whined at her, taking another spoonful as it was offered.

"I know," she said with a smile. "But it's my job to look after you."

"Just a job?" I asked, feigning hurt.

"Well... yeah... but you know I love my job," she said with a smile.

I watched her as she methodically spooned me chicken and vegetable soup, claiming it was going to cure me of all my woes. Just having her there made me feel better. I couldn't remember a time when I'd felt so cared for, when someone had dropped everything for me and just devoted their time to looking after me. It made me love her even more.

There was a knock on the door and Beth put the bowl of soup down to go and answer it.

"Good morning dearie!" Mrs Krasel's voice sounded. She was the grandmother of the motel owner and a lovely old lady. She peered into the comfortable motel room as Beth stepped back and opened the door further.

"We're just here to do a spot of cleaning," she said. On unsteady legs she came into the room bearing her weapons of choice – a cloth and surface cleaner in a spray bottle. I chuckled, she was a funny little lady. Her granddaughter Lucy wheeled the cleaning trolley up behind her and started to collect fresh towels for us.

"Hey Mrs K," I said to the old woman as she moved over toward the kitchen and started wiping down the bench.

"Hello handsome, how are you feeling today?" She asked with a big smile in my direction. I grinned at Beth, taking in the compliment.

"Do you want the sheets changed today Beth?" Lucy asked with a chuckle at Mrs K and Beth shook her head.

"No, I think they'll be all right thanks Lucy. Someone's using them at the moment," she answered with a grin, coming back to the bed and sitting down, resuming the feeding.

Mrs K chuckled and moved about the room dusting. There wasn't much soup left, and when I'd finished Beth looked at me approvingly, standing up and placing a kiss on my forehead. I settled back into my pillows, chatting away with Mrs K as she tottered around the room.

Beth pulled on a pair of shoes and grabbed her wallet and I looked at her questioningly.

"I'm going to go get a couple of supplies while Lucy and Mrs Krasel are here, I won't be long," she said, blowing me a kiss from the door.

"Don't you worry about him Beth, I'll stay here until you get back and make sure handsome is taken care of," Mrs K said with a smile. Beth nodded and chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. Mrs K had been doting on me since we'd arrived.

I watched Beth through the window as she crossed the road to the supermarket, she was unhurried, graceful as she jogged out of the way of oncoming traffic. My eyes never left her until she was out of sight, safely entering the store. I smiled happily until another coughing fit grabbed me.

Mrs K was cleaning bedside table surfaces and looked at me sympathetically as the coughing subsided.

"You're very lucky to have a girl to take care of you like this," she said and I nodded. I completely agreed.

"Yes I am," I said tentatively, hoping that talking didn't set off another round of barking. She nodded approvingly at me, as if I'd just told her something I wasn't supposed to admit to. Sometimes I simply didn't understand women at all; in fact, most of the time I didn't understand them and that was the sad truth of it.

* * *

_**New Orleans, Louisiana**_

_** -2 years ago-**_

_**Beth's POV**_

I'd been feeling a lot better in the last week since Celine and the old lady had come to visit. Dean was on the phone again, he'd been making a lot of calls about me. This time he looked more troubled than usual when he turned to me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, frowning. Dean sighed and came to sit on the bed.

"How are you feeling, really?" He asked, his eyes stating that I needed to give him an honest answer, this was important.

"Better than a week ago," I answered honestly. "The sickness is gone, the dizziness only coming now and then."

"Good enough to travel?" He asked, and I raised me eyebrow at his question.

"Yeah... I think so. Why? What's going on?" I asked, sitting forward and grasping his hand in mine.

Dean looked down at our hands and paused as he gave some thought to his answer. When he looked up at me there was a deep worry in those hazel eyes. "What's wrong?" I asked again, holding my breath.

"It's Dad," he said, and my heart skipped a beat. "He hasn't checked in, I haven't heard from him in weeks." I'm sure my face paled at the thought. It wasn't like John to miss a check-in, and definitely not to disappear for weeks without some kind of message as to where he was and why he was extending a hunt.

"Well we need to go find him," I said, a sense of urgency rising in my chest.

"Not with you in the shape you are, I'm not about to let you throw yourself into an unknown situation without being able to protect yourself," Dean said.

"Or protect you," I added, biting my lip. Dean nodded soberly, and it was clear as day that we had a problem. We relied on each other to back the other up, it was our strength, and if something had been strong enough or bad enough to make John disappear off the radar, then we needed to be functioning at full capacity.

"What do you want to do?" I asked. He'd have a plan, Dean always had a plan.

"You're not gonna like it," he said quietly, looking over at me, a frown creasing his brow. I looked at him curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"We need to get Sam to help," he said at my wordless question. I sucked in a breath at the idea that he was talking about pulling our younger sibling out of a normal, safe life at college and back into the fray.

"No, absolutely not," I said, shaking my head.

"Beth, we don't really have a choice. I may need some back-up. And you know how good he is at picking up on patterns that we don't always see," Dean reasoned. He'd clearly been giving this a lot of thought and it wasn't an easy decision to come to.

"I don't like it any more than you do," Dean said with a sigh. "But I'd feel a whole lot better about going on this search for Dad if we had someone with us."

"Jefferson can come up from Miami..." I countered, reaching for my phone, ready to put the call through.

"He's busy with a hunt of his own, he's not even in the country, he's up in Canada," Dean answered and I sighed.

"He won't come with us," I said, talking about Sam. We hadn't seen him face-to-face in over three years. I'd spoken to him on the phone a little in the last year or so, but even then it had been tentative and not like it used to be. Sam was still hurting badly from John's rejection of him and the ultimatum he had been given about college.

"Yeah he will," Dean said confidently. "It's Sam. He'll do what's right."

I sighed and brought my knees up to my chest, hugging my legs. "I don't like it."

"I know you don't. You think I do?" Dean asked. I questioned it a little. Dean missed having Sam around, as much as we all tended to fight like cats and dogs. That's what little brothers did, they annoyed the hell out of you and you loved them for it.

"Okay," I agreed quietly, nodding.

"Good, okay, well it's going to take us about a week to get to California with you in the shape you are. Are you up to leaving soon?" Dean asked, already getting up and starting to pace around the room collecting some of our things.

"Yeah," I said, looking about. It would be good to be back on the road and to get out of New Orleans. I'd seen enough Voodoo to last me a lifetime.

"You're sure?" Dean asked, pausing and looking at me worried.

I nodded and smiled at him, hoping that the smile reached my eyes regardless of the apprehension I felt. "Yeah, let's go," I said softly, picking up my journal and putting it in my knapsack by the door.

"Dean..." I said, standing up and balancing myself with an outstretched arm against the wall. Dean turned and looked at me with concern, crossing to me.

"What?" He asked.

"What if I don't get any better? I can't hunt like this, I'm useless!" I said angrily.

"Hey, hey it's only been a couple of weeks," Dean said, grasping my face gently between his hands. "Give it some time, okay? It'll be all right. You''ll come good."

I nodded with a sigh, wanting to believe him. I just wasn't so sure.

* * *

_**Salt Lake City**_

_**-6 months ago-**_

_**Dean's POV**_

Mrs K was staring at me as I started to flip through a couple of channels. She had planted herself at the table after Lucy moved on to the next room to be cleaned. Currently she was fiddling with the buttons on her cardigan as she waited for Beth to return.

"You don't have to keep me company Mrs K," I told her. "Beth will be back soon."

"So when are you going to ask her?" She asked, getting up and sitting on the side of the bed, looking at me expectantly.

"Ask her what?" I questioned, looking over at the kindly old woman, completely confused.

"To marry you, of course!" She said, raising an eyebrow. I froze, looking down at my hands with a sigh.

"Ah, well, that's complicated," I said quietly. Things were always complicated in our world, but more so now than ever. I didn't think it would be fair to extend any kind of proposal to Beth now that I was going to Hell - how was that fair?

"What's complicated about it? Do you love her?" She asked, looking over the top of her glasses at me.

"Yeah, I do," I said, looking up at her.

"Well that's all that matters," she said, tutting at me and standing up again, starting to run her cloth over the counter nearby.

"Can I ask you a question?" I said, gazing at her curiously.

"Ask away!" Mrs K said, taking the seat in front of her and turning bright blue eyes to me. She leaned forward expectantly, waiting.

"If you knew the person you loved was going to die in say, six months' time. Without a doubt, it was going to happen. Would you want to get a proposal? Especially if said person proposing had been messing around for about four years and not gotten around to asking earlier?" I said, looking over at her.

It's not that I hadn't thought about it, which was scary enough in and of itself, it was more the question of what kind of life could I offer her? We hunted creatures for an unpaid, thankless job. We put our lives on the line every day. We had no set home, no chance at peace and quiet unless we gave up hunting. We'd lost our baby, the one thing that might have settled that path down for us a little, and now we faced being separated forever, because once again the job – looking after Sammy – had come first.

"When I met my Edmund, he was a navy sailor," Mrs K said. "And he was about to go to war." I nodded, listening with interest. "We had a whirlwind romance, two weeks, oh it was special." She had a glint to her eye as she talked, smiling at the memories she was replaying in her head. "On the day before he was due to set sail, possibly to never return, he asked me to marry him." She looked down at her wedding ring and smiled. "I said yes, of course, and we were married at the court house the very same day, no special dress, just our closest friends and family – whoever could come at such short notice. It was the happiest day of my life."

I nodded, I got the story; I really did. Sighing, I sat forward, leaning my arms against my knees.

"Yeah, but he came back, didn't he?" I asked.

She nodded. "I was lucky," she answered. "We had forty-five happy years together, four beautiful children, twelve grandchildren, and already five great-grandchildren!" Mrs K looked proud at her achievements, it made me smile albeit sadly.

"We lost a child this year," I said quietly, thinking about all that we'd been through.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Dean," she said, standing up and coming over to pat my hand. "It's never an easy thing to go through." I looked at her and there was sadness in her eyes.

"I know marriage these days doesn't seem that important, and maybe it shouldn't matter, that being with the one you love is the most important thing," Mrs K said, patting my hand. "But don't let her get away; you don't get too many girls who are willing to sit around feeding you soup when you're sick!"

I chuckled and nodded. "Thanks Mrs K," I said, looking up as Beth came back into the room carrying a couple of bags of shopping. She smiled as soon as she saw me and I loved it, she'd always been like that, so open – even before we'd gotten together.

"Well I'll leave you two alone, I have my work to do and Lucy will be wondering where I got to!" Mrs K stood up and wandered off to the door bidding us good bye.

"Bye Mrs K, thanks for the chat," I said, waving at her with a smile.

Beth looked over curiously at me once she was gone. "What were you talking about?" She asked, taking a container out of the bag she was unpacking.

"You," I said with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh really?" She asked with a chuckle, grabbing a spoon from the drawer and coming over to sit on the bed beside me. I looked down at what she had in her hands, lemon meringue pie, and my mouth watered. _Man did I love this girl! _

"Yep," I said, looking into her deep brown eyes. "She thinks you should give me more sex too," I joked, grinning at her. Beth laughed and shook her head, offering me a spoonful of pie which I was quick to accept.

"I see," she answered with a twinkle to her eye. "Well, if you can get through all this pie without coughing and dying on me, maybe I'll have to do something about that." She offered me another spoonful of pie and I groaned at the thought. Looking at her here and now, and thinking about how much effort she'd gone through in the last few days to care for me made me think about how stupid I'd been, how I should have just made her my own years ago, regardless of our circumstances. Now it was too late.

I sighed and she looked at me concerned. "You okay?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good. Thanks for taking such good care of me," I answered, leaning forward to kiss her.

Beth smiled and leaned her forehead against mine, nuzzling my nose with her own.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be," she said, sitting back a little and offering another bite of pie. In that moment I realised that I felt exactly the same, I always had, and I started to play those words around in my head. I could marry this girl. I should have married her years ago. But now it was too late, what right did I have to ask when I'd be dead in six months' time? Even Mrs K had gone into marriage with a chance that her husband would return to her. Beth didn't have that. Didn't she deserve better than that? She deserved a man who wasn't going to abandon her for Hell, even if it meant saving her soul. She deserved better than me.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

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The Song for this chapter is: _Marry Me _by Jason Derulo

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Check out the Facebook page, put in the address, then add /pages/Dean-Beth-Supernatural-Fanfic/6167414450129 46

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Hope you enjoyed this short chapter – was just a short one because I've been away last weekend and flat out at work ever since doing some overtime to get through a back log and so on. I'm also supposed to be packing because I have to move in four weeks (and still don't have a place organised! Man it's all a bit up in the air right now)

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Welcome to all the new followers and favouriters, great to have you with us!

Please leave a review, you know how much I love to get them! Mahalo.

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Normally I like to do a shout-out to whoever suggested the oneshot I've just written, but I'm having a moment and can't remember who suggested I do a oneshot about Dean getting sick. Whoever you were – this one was for you! :D (Sorry, I can't find the review to reference).

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Next up it's _Christmas! _How is Beth going to cope with her favourite time of the year and Dean's impending doom? Flashbacks to Beth's first Xmas with the Winchesters and more on the way :D Will be a few days yet as I'm juggling a couple of things – at least I'm home this weekend so should be able to get a few updates out I hope!


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